All Shook Up

CH. 4
Amusing facts starting now:
-Elvis Presley fans earned an average grade of C in high school, and Pat Boone fans earned an average grade of B. Those who took honor classes, wore proper clothes, donated blood, also known as the "good kids" listened to pop or classical music. 
-Rock n' roll music was thought as "dangerous" due to its beat which made the body want to dance and have sex.
-Boys' working wage at age 18 was $16.65, while girls earned about 2 or 3 dollars less. Still though, that is incredibly high compared to now a days! It'd be awesome to get that now:)
-Teenagers spent plenty of their leisure time spending money and buying clothes, sports equipment, records, etc. So, in the consumer world, teenagers had become their own "group".
-The Nelson family was different in real life, than the family they portrayed on TV.  The father was an incredibly hard worker and also demanding father. Ricky smoked marijuana, wore leather jackets, and was a shy teenager. 
-Many teens wanted their parents to still play a role in their life and be there to guide them, and on the contrary they also wanted their own freedom. Teenagers did not want parents to rule their lives, but still wanted them to stay in their lives for support. 
-Frozen dinners became a hit, therefore having dinner at the dinner table with the family became less common. After the frozen dinner was eaten, teenagers would most likely rush out or go to their rooms. 
-The United States was the only country in the 50's that added "teenager" to their dictionary and considered them a completely separate group from the adults, and children as well. 


It is tough to argue with the fact that the 50's was an era mostly "run" by teenagers. The previous generation had gone from childhood straight into adulthood, so it is not a surprise that a generation gap between the parents and their new so called teenagers existed in the 50's. 

OVERCOMING Stress Workshop

    Today, I went to the Overcoming Stress workshop and overall it was extremely informative. I wrote down plenty of notes, and hopefully I follow the advice given and lower the stress in my life. Some things I learned include:
Writing out one's feelings can help reduce or let go of stress. Even sleepless nights can be fixed by getting out of bed and writing down all that is in the mind at that moment and therefore clearing up the mind. This is probably one of the facts that stuck out to me the most. It is such a simple 10 minute task, but with humungous results.
Signs of stress include headaches, backaches, muscle aches, overpowering urges to cry, and also a nauseous feeling in the stomach. It is interesting, because I never really thought of stress as having physical symptoms.
If one has frequent amounts of high stress, then they can develop one of the few long term affects which can be heart disease, hypertension or ulcers.
Stress is not just negative. Positive stress is real too. Positive stress helps one by giving the body an extra burst of adrenaline. This adrenaline can help with concentrating, or focusing more and even give one that extra energy to finish the final paper.
Stress can cause problems in relationships too whether it be with family, friends or a significant other. So, by one lowering his or her stress level, it will be beneficial to his or her relationships with others.
It is essential to make time for fun activities. One should make at least one weekly plan with friends or just to relax or do something that he or she loves. This gives one something happy to look forward to once the stressful week is over. Monthly and yearly plans are recommended too!
To live a healthy lifestyle, it helps to sleep at least 6-8 hours a day, eat at least 3 healthy meals a day, and exercise regularly (3 times per week).

Well, that's it :]

Success Tip Three

If one wants to be successful in college, I think one should make (some) friends. Making friends in college is pretty essential, as well as extremely helpful. It'll make college life a bit more easier and less stressful, nonetheless. Friends can help with homework, act as study partners, give one advice, and just simply hang out with one. Also, if one misses a class, then a friend is able to let them know what went on while they were gone. With college life being stressful at times, it's nice to get away from it a bit, and just do something fun with a friend or a group.

All Shook Up

CH. 3

Because the world now is completely different than in the 50's, reading this chapter brought out many surprising facts.
I have heard of the "baby boom" but did not realize at how such a young the age the couples were marrying and having babies in. It was surprising to read that in 1957, 97 out of every 1,000 girls between 15 and 19 years old had one child! Insane. 
As for R&B music, it is strange to read that plenty of R&B song lyrics were changed in order to sound more "clean". Now a days, artists say directly whatever they want, how ever they want to, whether it be disgusting or not. 
It is interesting that adults found rock n' roll music to be dangerous due to the idea that it caused sexual exploration in teenagers. This just shows what great impact music holds, and also how much my generation has changed since then. 
It's funny how Pat Boone was the ideal model for a teenager. Maybe parents these days would love to have a child like that, but when it comes to friends, he'd probably have the hardest time in the world trying to fit in. No offense :)
It is strange that guys were suppose to be emotionless and masculine back in the 50's. So when Elvis showed the more vulnerable side to guys, many people did not accept it. 

1. Birthday Sex- Jeremih
2. Brainstew/Jaded- Green Day
3. Smoke Two Joints- Bob Marley
4. Drug Ballad- Eminem
5. 12:51- The Strokes

Out of these, my favorite with a doubt is 12:51. With The Strokes being one of my favorite bands, it's hard to find a song by them that I do not like. But I like the melody of this song, and to me it's catchy. It was interesting though to learn that this song was about the moment before you lose your virginity. I am horrible at interpreting lyrics or other people's words, so I never really take the time to look into the meaning of songs. So, it was interesting to search on google for songs that mention sex or drugs, and then find some that I knew of but never realized that the lyrics refer to either of those things.

All Shook Up.

Ch. 2

Wow, so much racism towards the African Americans at that time. I understand that because I live in the time period that I live in now, things are way different, but still all that segregation was only about 50 years ago. I found it interesting that mixed dancing was banned, the Ku Klux Klan was created, and one thousand paratroopers had to stay in an integrated school as protection for the African American students. Additionally, African American performers would be paid such a low percentage rate, even with their records sold thousands and thousands. Also Nat King Cole was assulated on stage, and to me that was taking it a bit too far. That just showed how much hatred the white Southerners had in the idea of integration. Then there were white people covering Rock n' Roll songs by African American artists, which completely ruined the meaning of rock music. On the sunny side of things, even when there was a rope separating the young colored audience from the young white audience, it was broken as soon as the Rock n' Roll music started. Also, white kids went into African American neighboorhoods, looking for Rock n' Roll music. A random thing I found it ironic how Little Richard's siblings thought of his singing and shouting as a little boy annoying, and later on in life he became a singing sensation.

Success Tip Dos

How to be successful in college #2:
Simply by just doing homework, one will do good in college. This will help them get on track with the class, and not feel lost. When tests, or quizzes, come up, they will feel more prepared knowing they have done something relating to the test/quiz, rather than feel completely confused. Doing the homework will help one pass the class, and who does not want to pass a college class? Everyone, but Asher Roth, I am sure.