Growing Up Male The earliest memory I share with my sister as a child probably goes back to when I was four, making her six. As a kid I was both curious and adventurous, always looking for new experiences. Yet I would never willingly wear women's clothing, let alone accessories like purses layered with glitter and overly large hats. But when my sister threatened to tattle on me for not playing ‘dress up’ with her (yes as an adult I know view this as a hollow threat) I quickly found myself stuffed in a sparkling black dress looking like a true diva. At the tender age of four I was still unaware of the overwhelming gender boundaries but still understood wearing women’s apparel was socially wrong and frowned upon. My Dad was a giant man usually covered by a scrape of clothe if anything while my Mom dressed the same as all the other women I saw on the street. Before I was five I understood what others expected me to wear and what they would view as unordinary for my wardrobe.
Until I was seven, after I moved to New York I didn’t really show signs of being any gender (besides my clothes), just like any child. My sister and I both played the same games and did the same activities, too young to worry about what my masculinity or what the girls my age were worrying about. But to this day I still remember watching my Dad about to walk out of our house carrying a shining, long rifle that would stand shoulder hight if stood upright. Up to that point I was familiar with guns and had spent some days shooting my own air soft rifle, but never before had I seen a firearm being carried with such true purpose. In almost aw I stopped my Dad at the door and pleaded with him for me to tag along.
Ever since that day my life took a turn towards the wilderness, in a way almost giving it a purpose. Over the years I have perfected my shot with any type of rifle, shotgun, handgun and even flare gun, along with working my precision with throwing knives and hunting bows. Blue sky and freshly cut grass witnessed most of my childhood as I wondered the outdoors looking for the wonders hidden in the least likely places. By the time I was twelve I could hit the wing of a flying bird with my rifle and destroy a tomato ten yards away with my gutting knife. I was a boy, slowly growing into a man.
By fourteen I spent less time on my hobbies of youth, and more on school, yet continued to surround myself in situations that showed masculine nature. Of course I never stopped my self and said ‘wow, I should really try and get in touch with my feminine side,’ but the truth is, I didn’t need to. The image of leaping buck taking two metal slugs to the chest after the pull of my Dad’s trigger is still a vivid memory to me, along with my encounter with the wounded deer. A twelve gauge slug can easily penetrate the bulky muscle of a angered bear, let alone drop a white-tail deer. I still remember approaching the dying deer, its breaths short and rapid. When above it I took a glance then turned back at my Dad. Even though it was wounded the animal that lay fatally injured infront of me was a beautiful creature, strong and innocent. I was proud of my Dad, but still felt sorrow. Because of that day, and because of the deer’s deep, slowly fading eyes, I have never killed an animal for sport. That is only one example, and and of course there are many that I share with my peers. Emotions like sympathy, grief, affection, and to a good extent love have been recognized as a feminine trait by many males, but still many of those same men sympathize for something or someone. All those men have loved or love something in their life.
As far as emotions go they are impossible to escape. Anyone (regardless male or female) placed in the correct situation will experience a specific emotion, weather its deep in their gut or in the back of their mind. A culture can try and assign emotions to a gender, but it will never be true. Yet, a society can assign things like clothing to male/female. I knew this by age four while being forced to play 'dress up' with my sister.
The American Dream
As a kid, I dreamed of a huge ranch with waiting service maids and piles upon piles of food. I would own fast and expensive cars that usually just sat in my huge garage along with my collection of adult toys. To me, this was the dream that I thought I shared with many other Americans. But the truth is, for every American, their is a separate, unique dream. Somewhere in Colorado there is a young man learning how to ski, and at night he ponders about his adulthood as a ski resort guide, spending his life on skis. In his dreams he owns a cabin right next to the mountain and spends all of his time not on the slopes reminiscing with others over their ski experiences. That is his dream, to spend his life on skis. A dream thought of and developed over the years by his experiences. That is his dream, and he is an American. But in the same state of Colorado there is also another young man dreaming to be a professional big game hunter (another popular sport in that state). These two men could be neighbors, yet share two totally different dreams.
Americans are among the most diversified group of people in the world. Our origins are located across the planet, from every continent. Cultures, traditions and languages have all met here in America to create somewhat of a ‘monster’ culture, one built of different nationalities stuck together. With this in mind, it is easier to understand how so many people in one country can define the American dream differently.
If one were to ask 100 people what they thought the American dream was, then that one person would come to understand what makes the states so unique. Out of 100 answers, as with everything, there would be some total surprises. But for the most part they would all fall within the same idea, but never exactly the same. Though many would answer successful job, wealthy family and big house, they were asked to expand on their answer then thats when the differences become more apparent.
The ideology behind the American dream to many Americans is the same. For some it can basically be summed up as the hope to become more successful then one’s parents. But for many it is not that simple, and is a more personalized dream. Other countries like Mexico or France don't really use the phrase the ‘Mexican dream’ or the ‘French dream.’ In my eyes, the 'American dream' is used so often because that is what the nation was found on. A single person having the ability to focus his time and work on a single, desired dream. When this land was once ‘the new world’ the American dream was still as alive as it is today. The phrase plays on the same idea behind the phrase 'the land of opportunity.' America was found on hard workers who came here to master a craft, whether it was farming or politics.
The Fixed Definitions of Homo and Heterosexuality.
gay-boys-with-crabs.jpg
Some would say the stages of childhood can be categorized by the child's behavior towards the opposite sex. From birth to around the age three or four (for me at least it was five), most children have a neutral opinion on their counterparts. But past that age, for most until twelve or fourteen, children reach the ‘cootie’ stage in their path for adulthood. For me, this is one of the most interesting things in the field of biology, the complete phobia and fear boys have of girls (and vise versa) at this tender age. Yet, it seems even then we understand that it will in fact be one of the demonized girls that we choose to grow old with. At an age when our main fear is the decease that is only carried by the locks of hair of the opposite gender, we can still understand that in society it is not right to view the same sex as attractive.
The ‘cootie’ stage in our lives is when we would be watching TV with our parents and a couple would start to kiss, making us feel occupied to look away. We viewed it awkward and inappropriate, yet at the same time if we saw two men or women kissing we might not have looked away, and asked a parent ‘why is that man kissing that other man?’
Gay-Teens.jpg
By the time we grow out of the ‘cooties’ stage and move into the teenage years of our lives, we at some point learn of homosexuality, and those considered ‘gay.’ Like most things outside of the cultural norm, the word gay, or lesbian, or any other associated words have a strong ideology connected to it. Most will tell you women who like men also like dresses, flowers, pretty poetry and chocolate. Those same people, who were raised to believe what they do about straight man and women, will most likely tell you the exact opposite about women who instead are attracted to other women. They will say they enjoy masculine activities, things that any popular diva would never want to be seen doing. Spitting, fishing, foul mouthing, fist fighting or straight up being a man. Society has no problem categorizing things that a straight person would do, and things a homosexual would do.
As a child the issue of health care is no more then the idea of something that is broke should be fixed. But as I age and become closer to achieving my high school diploma the argument of what to do with the nation as a patient becomes more and more complex. In todays system it seems there are too many variables that can, or are going wrong. Yet people will still say America has the best health care in the world, even if some statistics say otherwise. But as of now America is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not supply a universal health care system to its tax payers (Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences). It seems like todays system is very controversial and according to President Obama needs to change. After looking into some studying myself, and wondering what I would like my experience to be like at the hospital as an insurance payer, I concluded there are two main problems with todays health care system. The first is producers that are necessity to some, like finger transplants or kidney surgery, should not cost someone their entire retirement savings. The second is insurance companies should not be looking to make a well sized profit over caring for those who need their coverage. These two flaws in our system is causing troubles with many in our nation to the point it has become the title argument on most news shows, symbolizing its importance.
The United States is famous for having the highest grade medical doctors and equipment, most likely because of the great funding the hospitals receive through ordinary patient bills. Like the situation in Michael Moore’s film Sicko, one should not have to decide which finger to get reattached because two would be too expensive. For a lot of people they are hurt accidentally or unintentionally, meaning they should not receive a bill that can erase multiple years salary for something they did not intend on doing. With a government run health care system everyone would be covered, so the amount of overwhelming hospital bills for those that weren't insured and got an expensive injury goes down. According to the Health Affairs Journal in 2005 about half of the bankruptcy filing in the Unites States are due to medical expenses. Everybody makes mistakes, and sometimes they get hurt because of them. But nobody should have to file bankruptcy because of one mistake.
Now with the health care debate at every Americans door it is apparent to most that some privately own health care business's use unethical techniques to push a profit, like rejecting an expensive yet extremely necessary surgery. This is something else that no injured person deserves, having their fait rest in the hands of a business man purely looking for the path with the most money. It is scary to think that one day I might need a procedure done in a hospital to potentially save my life and there is a chance an insurance worker at a desk rejecting it for profit. With a government run health care system this would be more correctly monitored, meaning if you need a procedure to survive you will get it.
As we grow older health care will eventually become the biggest topic in politics. We will start to take more and more visits to the doctor as we age and grow out of our young invincibility. We all hope that if anything happens to us the professionals at the hospital or a private practice can catch it before it becomes a big deal. But when the unexpected happens and you find your self in a hospital bed, you do not want to be worrying about the size of the bill, let alone whether or not the insurance companies will allow you to be treated correctly. At a time of physical pain and suffering no one should have to deal with an outside stress, especially if it is the money that most work so hard to earn.
The Two Problems Plaguing Health Care
As a child the issue of health care is no more then the idea of something that is broke should be fixed. But as I age and become closer to achieving my high school diploma the argument of what to do with the nation as a patient becomes more and more complex. In todays system it seems there are too many variables that can, or are going wrong. Yet people will still say America has the best health care in the world, even if some statistics say otherwise. But as of now America is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not supply a universal health care system to its tax payers (Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences). It seems like todays system is very controversial and according to President Obama needs to change. After looking into some studying myself, and wondering what I would like my experience to be like at the hospital as an insurance payer, I concluded there are two main problems with todays health care system. The first is producers that are necessity to some, like finger transplants or kidney surgery, should not cost someone their entire retirement savings. The second is insurance companies should not be looking to make a well sized profit over caring for those who need their coverage. These two flaws in our system is causing troubles with many in our nation to the point it has become the title argument on most news shows, symbolizing its importance.
v146.jpg
The United States is famous for having the highest grade medical doctors and equipment, most likely because of the great funding the hospitals receive through ordinary patient bills. Like the situation in Michael Moore’s film Sicko, one should not have to decide which finger to get reattached because two would be too expensive. For a lot of people they are hurt accidentally or unintentionally, meaning they should not receive a bill that can erase multiple years salary for something they did not intend on doing. With a government run health care system everyone would be covered, so the amount of overwhelming hospital bills for those that weren't insured and got an expensive injury goes down. According to the Health Affairs Journal in 2005 about half of the bankruptcy filing in the Unites States are due to medical expenses. Everybody makes mistakes, and sometimes they get hurt because of them. But nobody should have to file bankruptcy because of one mistake.
Healthcare.jpg
Now with the health care debate at every Americans door it is apparent to most that some privately own health care business's use unethical techniques to push a profit, like rejecting an expensive yet extremely necessary surgery. This is something else that no injured person deserves, having their fait rest in the hands of a business man purely looking for the path with the most money. It is scary to think that one day I might need a procedure done in a hospital to potentially save my life and there is a chance an insurance worker at a desk rejecting it for profit. With a government run health care system this would be more correctly monitored, meaning if you need a procedure to survive you will get it. As we grow older health care will eventually become the biggest topic in politics. We will start to take more and more visits to the doctor as we age and grow out of our young invincibility. We all hope that if anything happens to us the professionals at the hospital or a private practice can catch it before it becomes a big deal. But when the unexpected happens and you find your self in a hospital bed, you do not want to be worrying about the size of the bill, let alone whether or not the insurance companies will allow you to be treated correctly. At a time of physical pain and suffering no one should have to deal with an outside stress, especially if it is the money that most work so hard to earn.
Growing Up Male
The earliest memory I share with my sister as a child probably goes back to when I was four, making her six. As a kid I was both curious and adventurous, always looking for new experiences. Yet I would never willingly wear women's clothing, let alone accessories like purses layered with glitter and overly large hats. But when my sister threatened to tattle on me for not playing ‘dress up’ with her (yes as an adult I know view this as a hollow threat) I quickly found myself stuffed in a sparkling black dress looking like a true diva. At the tender age of four I was still unaware of the overwhelming gender boundaries but still understood wearing women’s apparel was socially wrong and frowned upon. My Dad was a giant man usually covered by a scrape of clothe if anything while my Mom dressed the same as all the other women I saw on the street. Before I was five I understood what others expected me to wear and what they would view as unordinary for my wardrobe.
Until I was seven, after I moved to New York I didn’t really show signs of being any gender (besides my clothes), just like any child. My sister and I both played the same games and did the same activities, too young to worry about what my masculinity or what the girls my age were worrying about. But to this day I still remember watching my Dad about to walk out of our house carrying a shining, long rifle that would stand shoulder hight if stood upright. Up to that point I was familiar with guns and had spent some days shooting my own air soft rifle, but never before had I seen a firearm being carried with such true purpose. In almost aw I stopped my Dad at the door and pleaded with him for me to tag along.
Ever since that day my life took a turn towards the wilderness, in a way almost giving it a purpose. Over the years I have perfected my shot with any type of rifle, shotgun, handgun and even flare gun, along with working my precision with throwing knives and hunting bows. Blue sky and freshly cut grass witnessed most of my childhood as I wondered the outdoors looking for the wonders hidden in the least likely places. By the time I was twelve I could hit the wing of a flying bird with my rifle and destroy a tomato ten yards away with my gutting knife. I was a boy, slowly growing into a man.
By fourteen I spent less time on my hobbies of youth, and more on school, yet continued to surround myself in situations that showed masculine nature. Of course I never stopped my self and said ‘wow, I should really try and get in touch with my feminine side,’ but the truth is, I didn’t need to. The image of leaping buck taking two metal slugs to the chest after the pull of my Dad’s trigger is still a vivid memory to me, along with my encounter with the wounded deer. A twelve gauge slug can easily penetrate the bulky muscle of a angered bear, let alone drop a white-tail deer. I still remember approaching the dying deer, its breaths short and rapid. When above it I took a glance then turned back at my Dad. Even though it was wounded the animal that lay fatally injured infront of me was a beautiful creature, strong and innocent. I was proud of my Dad, but still felt sorrow. Because of that day, and because of the deer’s deep, slowly fading eyes, I have never killed an animal for sport. That is only one example, and and of course there are many that I share with my peers. Emotions like sympathy, grief, affection, and to a good extent love have been recognized as a feminine trait by many males, but still many of those same men sympathize for something or someone. All those men have loved or love something in their life.
As far as emotions go they are impossible to escape. Anyone (regardless male or female) placed in the correct situation will experience a specific emotion, weather its deep in their gut or in the back of their mind. A culture can try and assign emotions to a gender, but it will never be true. Yet, a society can assign things like clothing to male/female. I knew this by age four while being forced to play 'dress up' with my sister.
The American Dream
As a kid, I dreamed of a huge ranch with waiting service maids and piles upon piles of food. I would own fast and expensive cars that usually just sat in my huge garage along with my collection of adult toys. To me, this was the dream that I thought I shared with many other Americans. But the truth is, for every American, their is a separate, unique dream. Somewhere in Colorado there is a young man learning how to ski, and at night he ponders about his adulthood as a ski resort guide, spending his life on skis. In his dreams he owns a cabin right next to the mountain and spends all of his time not on the slopes reminiscing with others over their ski experiences. That is his dream, to spend his life on skis. A dream thought of and developed over the years by his experiences. That is his dream, and he is an American. But in the same state of Colorado there is also another young man dreaming to be a professional big game hunter (another popular sport in that state). These two men could be neighbors, yet share two totally different dreams.
Americans are among the most diversified group of people in the world. Our origins are located across the planet, from every continent. Cultures, traditions and languages have all met here in America to create somewhat of a ‘monster’ culture, one built of different nationalities stuck together. With this in mind, it is easier to understand how so many people in one country can define the American dream differently.
If one were to ask 100 people what they thought the American dream was, then that one person would come to understand what makes the states so unique. Out of 100 answers, as with everything, there would be some total surprises. But for the most part they would all fall within the same idea, but never exactly the same. Though many would answer successful job, wealthy family and big house, they were asked to expand on their answer then thats when the differences become more apparent.
The ideology behind the American dream to many Americans is the same. For some it can basically be summed up as the hope to become more successful then one’s parents. But for many it is not that simple, and is a more personalized dream. Other countries like Mexico or France don't really use the phrase the ‘Mexican dream’ or the ‘French dream.’ In my eyes, the 'American dream' is used so often because that is what the nation was found on. A single person having the ability to focus his time and work on a single, desired dream. When this land was once ‘the new world’ the American dream was still as alive as it is today. The phrase plays on the same idea behind the phrase 'the land of opportunity.' America was found on hard workers who came here to master a craft, whether it was farming or politics.
The Fixed Definitions of Homo and Heterosexuality.
Some would say the stages of childhood can be categorized by the child's behavior towards the opposite sex. From birth to around the age three or four (for me at least it was five), most children have a neutral opinion on their counterparts. But past that age, for most until twelve or fourteen, children reach the ‘cootie’ stage in their path for adulthood. For me, this is one of the most interesting things in the field of biology, the complete phobia and fear boys have of girls (and vise versa) at this tender age. Yet, it seems even then we understand that it will in fact be one of the demonized girls that we choose to grow old with. At an age when our main fear is the decease that is only carried by the locks of hair of the opposite gender, we can still understand that in society it is not right to view the same sex as attractive.
The ‘cootie’ stage in our lives is when we would be watching TV with our parents and a couple would start to kiss, making us feel occupied to look away. We viewed it awkward and inappropriate, yet at the same time if we saw two men or women kissing we might not have looked away, and asked a parent ‘why is that man kissing that other man?’
As a child the issue of health care is no more then the idea of something that is broke should be fixed. But as I age and become closer to achieving my high school diploma the argument of what to do with the nation as a patient becomes more and more complex. In todays system it seems there are too many variables that can, or are going wrong. Yet people will still say America has the best health care in the world, even if some statistics say otherwise. But as of now America is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not supply a universal health care system to its tax payers (Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences). It seems like todays system is very controversial and according to President Obama needs to change. After looking into some studying myself, and wondering what I would like my experience to be like at the hospital as an insurance payer, I concluded there are two main problems with todays health care system. The first is producers that are necessity to some, like finger transplants or kidney surgery, should not cost someone their entire retirement savings. The second is insurance companies should not be looking to make a well sized profit over caring for those who need their coverage. These two flaws in our system is causing troubles with many in our nation to the point it has become the title argument on most news shows, symbolizing its importance.
The United States is famous for having the highest grade medical doctors and equipment, most likely because of the great funding the hospitals receive through ordinary patient bills. Like the situation in Michael Moore’s film Sicko, one should not have to decide which finger to get reattached because two would be too expensive. For a lot of people they are hurt accidentally or unintentionally, meaning they should not receive a bill that can erase multiple years salary for something they did not intend on doing. With a government run health care system everyone would be covered, so the amount of overwhelming hospital bills for those that weren't insured and got an expensive injury goes down. According to the Health Affairs Journal in 2005 about half of the bankruptcy filing in the Unites States are due to medical expenses. Everybody makes mistakes, and sometimes they get hurt because of them. But nobody should have to file bankruptcy because of one mistake.
Now with the health care debate at every Americans door it is apparent to most that some privately own health care business's use unethical techniques to push a profit, like rejecting an expensive yet extremely necessary surgery. This is something else that no injured person deserves, having their fait rest in the hands of a business man purely looking for the path with the most money. It is scary to think that one day I might need a procedure done in a hospital to potentially save my life and there is a chance an insurance worker at a desk rejecting it for profit. With a government run health care system this would be more correctly monitored, meaning if you need a procedure to survive you will get it.
As we grow older health care will eventually become the biggest topic in politics. We will start to take more and more visits to the doctor as we age and grow out of our young invincibility. We all hope that if anything happens to us the professionals at the hospital or a private practice can catch it before it becomes a big deal. But when the unexpected happens and you find your self in a hospital bed, you do not want to be worrying about the size of the bill, let alone whether or not the insurance companies will allow you to be treated correctly. At a time of physical pain and suffering no one should have to deal with an outside stress, especially if it is the money that most work so hard to earn.
The Two Problems Plaguing Health Care
As a child the issue of health care is no more then the idea of something that is broke should be fixed. But as I age and become closer to achieving my high school diploma the argument of what to do with the nation as a patient becomes more and more complex. In todays system it seems there are too many variables that can, or are going wrong. Yet people will still say America has the best health care in the world, even if some statistics say otherwise. But as of now America is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not supply a universal health care system to its tax payers (Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences). It seems like todays system is very controversial and according to President Obama needs to change. After looking into some studying myself, and wondering what I would like my experience to be like at the hospital as an insurance payer, I concluded there are two main problems with todays health care system. The first is producers that are necessity to some, like finger transplants or kidney surgery, should not cost someone their entire retirement savings. The second is insurance companies should not be looking to make a well sized profit over caring for those who need their coverage. These two flaws in our system is causing troubles with many in our nation to the point it has become the title argument on most news shows, symbolizing its importance.
As we grow older health care will eventually become the biggest topic in politics. We will start to take more and more visits to the doctor as we age and grow out of our young invincibility. We all hope that if anything happens to us the professionals at the hospital or a private practice can catch it before it becomes a big deal. But when the unexpected happens and you find your self in a hospital bed, you do not want to be worrying about the size of the bill, let alone whether or not the insurance companies will allow you to be treated correctly. At a time of physical pain and suffering no one should have to deal with an outside stress, especially if it is the money that most work so hard to earn.