Apathy...

Why is apathy, another term for passivity, submissiveness, and even numbness, reaching epidemic proportions when it comes to social, economic, environmental, and political issues? Symptoms include lack of awareness, concern, social responsibility and action, which includes voting. This is particularly apparent for those in the 18 to 24 age group. Apathy involves people either being content with their current status and the world around them, or being ignorant to those same surroundings. Apathetic citizens of any nation can cause the foundations of society to crumble because these people think everything is well on the surface, when in actuality, it is not. Wake up people and look around you, and by around you I don't mean just your own backyard. Turn on the news and get informed! 


If you don't stop being apathetic, the world is never going to change or see any progression. 
STOP apathy! 

Get involved with civic engagement!!!!! 

War is not in style...

Peace is a simple and noble concept that entices yet eludes mankind. As a global society advancing at an escalating rate we as twenty first century humans are presented a unique opportunity for global unity and co-existance for the first time in known history. Through communication, understanding and self- determination we can stop war, heal the planet and mobilize for global harmony in the coming centuries starting now. 

War is a racket manufactured by powerful industrial, political and social leaders for their own benefit. Modern globalism has fueled military industrial hunger yet frustrated their advances as informed citizens mobilize with the latest technological tools to unite against oppression. The world is a temple waiting to be discovered, don't give in to the fear and hate spread by politically biased media, travel the world and meet your global community face to smiling face. 


Spread the word, spread love and say no more war!

What do you see when you look at me?

Breaking Stereotypes

In today’s society there are an immense number of cultures, religions and nationalities. These factors vary from country to country and each country has its own opinion of other cultures, religions and nationalities. In a society exposed to numerous religions, cultures and ways of thinking, stereotypes and labeling have become common in making sense of the world and the people in it. We have heard them all. African Americans are lazy and incompetent workers. Hispanics are all drug-dealers. The Irish are heavy drinkers. Feminists are man haters. People with tattoos are dangerous and probably been to jail. Academically successful students don’t know how to have fun. These are all stereotypes. Stereotyping is a problem that refuses to go away. It recurs, across various contexts and discourses, as a divisive and troubling issue, and remains a central source of contention in the politics of representation. Many stereotypes exist: different ones towards racial groups, women, the elderly, the mentally ill, fat people, homosexuals, the physically handicapped, and individuals with AIDS, to name just a few. Stereotypes can have negative outcomes both for the individuals who are the target of prejudice and for society at large. Stereotypes are a set of beliefs about the personal attributes of a group of people. It was journalist Walter Lippman who first coined the term "stereotype" to refer to our beliefs about groups. He borrowed the term from the printing process in which a "stereotype" literally was a metal plate that made duplicate copies of a printed page. Lippman believed this term describes how we continuously reproduce the "picture in our heads" that we have about a group whenever we encounter members of that group. In other words, Lippman recognized the human tendencies to categorize people into groups, and then to see individual members as a reflection of that group, rather than as the unique person they are. Although stereotypes may be products of individual cognitive processes, they also maybe consensually shared within a society. Collectively held stereotypes may be especially pernicious as they are often widespread in a society.

I have been stereotyped many times, and honestly it doesn’t hurt me. When I am offended however, I let people know. I am a feminist, and I am proud of it. I refuse to be hurt by the labels that society puts on me. But what about the person who takes the negative stereotypes into heart? What about the person who doesn’t stand up for themselves? Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy and labels stick. Do you really want to be responsible for re-enforcing these stereotypes and putting a label on a group of people or a culture? Next time think before you speak. Our words are powerful and our actions even more powerful. If we all took steps towards breaking stereotypes, our world would be a better place.

Our failed juvenile justice system..

Inspired to write this because of a story I read today about Maria Santana's son and his story in the juvenile justice system...
California essentially gave up on Maria Santana’s son when he was 15 years old and was locked up in the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) youth prisons. Initially told he would be released in four years, Maria’s son has been languishing for nearly 10 years. With eight other children and recently losing her job, Maria can’t afford to drive six hours to Ventura to visit him.
It costs approximately $200,000 per year to lock up a young person in DJJ. So what has the taxpayers’ $2 million dollar investment in Maria’s son brought him, his family or his community? When his mom sees his resignation, his broken spirit and the scars on his body from rubber bullets, she knows that the state has failed him. He’s certainly not the only one. Despite costing more than $436 million annually to warehouse only 1,300 youth, DJJ fails 72 percent of the time -- meaning that 72 percent of the young people are rearrested soon after release. This recidivism rate is really high.
We’re paying $200,000 per youth per year for lockup in a violent, failed system. In comparison, a young person in a California public school merits only $7,100 per year for education. California adult prisons cost $8.2 billion, locking up 160,000 adults, but our public college system gets far less --$5.5 billion to educate more than 650,000 students.


So what's the answer? How do we fix this situation?

Lost Generation

I am part of a lost generation
and I refuse to believe that
I can change the world
I realize this may be a shock but
“Happiness comes from within.”
is a lie, and
“Money will make me happy.”
So in 30 years I will tell my children
they are not the most important thing in my life
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family
I tell you this
Once upon a time
Families stayed together
but this will not be true in my era
This is a quick fix society
Experts tell me
30 years from now, I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making
In the future
Environmental destruction will be the norm
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this earth
It will be evident that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope.

And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it .

Read the message, then read it again in reverse.

Which generation do you belong in?

By Jonathan Reed

Opposite World...

The types of abuse that are invisible..

I wanted to bring awareness to an epidemic-- verbal and emotional abuse.

Domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone, yet the problem is often overlooked, excused, or denied. This is especially true when the abuse is psychological, rather than physical. Emotional abuse is often minimized, yet it can leave deep and lasting scars. When most people hear the word “pain”, they automatically assume that it is physical pain that is being dealt. Yet most of the pain in the world is emotional, which is caused mainly by just a few words arranged in such a way that it will actually send a bolt of emotional distress straight through that individuals’ heart and soul. A lot of people have experienced this whether they were the victim, the attacker, or just a witness, if not all three. I know that I myself have been in all three of the positions. Being the victim is probably the hardest position to be in when it comes to hurtful words. Noticing and acknowledging the warning signs and symptoms of domestic violence and abuse is the first step to ending it. No one should live in fear of the person they love.

So here are the warning signs or a few questions that anyone in a relationship should ask themselves..

Do you:

feel afraid of your partner much of the time?

avoid certain topics out of fear of angering your partner?

feel that you can’t do anything right for your partner?

believe that you deserve to be hurt or mistreated?

wonder if you’re the one who is crazy?

feel emotionally numb or helpless?

Does your partner:

humiliate or yell at you?

criticize you and put you down?

treat you so badly that you’re embarrassed to share it with your family or friends.

ignore or put down your opinions or accomplishments?

blame you for his own abusive behavior?

act excessively jealous and possessive?

control where you go or what you do?

manipulate you?

keep you from seeing your friends or family?

constantly check up on you?

If you or your partner feel/do some of the things listed above, then that person doesn't deserve you. Just because you don't have physical marks, doesn't mean you're in a healthy relationship. Don't wait for that person to change, because in 8 out of 10 cases, that person will NEVER change. It's not worth spending precious time trying to work out something that is simply not going to work out.

The best thing to do in this situation is to have some self-control and have guts... TO WALK AWAY! If this is too hard to do there is always help that you can get. You can research your local women's organizations or domestic violence organizations to receive help.. If you need help with this, please feel free to contact me on melfenerci@gmail.com and I'd be more happy to find the right place for you to go to to get help.

Share the love...

I recently wrote an entry about lossing my inspiration.. well, it came back. I stopped trying and let life in, and it really worked. Lately, I have been getting a lot of encouragement from people who love me, but also from people I have never met before. In the last two days I have received e-mails, facebook messages...etc from people I don't even know. How inspiring is that? When they contact me they usually tell me that I have impacted their lives in a special way.. and that they found motivation or inspiration in reading my blog. Some of those people live thousands and thousands miles away. Simply put, I am really happy and thankful. I wanted to share the love, and remind you all that you can make someone's day. Making someone happy can be so easy.. most people need encouragement, because most of us don't get enough of it. WE ALL NEED LOVE!

My friend Marissa Geer started the MHOYW campaign.. it's really interesting and I find it to be very inspiring.. It's about sharing the love and making sure people know that someone out there cares about them..

This is how it works in Marissa's Words...

You make a bracelet – doesn’t matter if you’ve already worn it or it’s brand new or even better, made from you. You then eventually give it to someone else in your life, telling them that you care about them and appreciate them in it.

This special person can be your mother, your father, your best friend, your favorite teacher... Or even a complete stranger.
The only rule is...
They are encouraged wholeheartedly to give that bracelet to someone else that they care about, or has made an impact on their life.

So this bracelet is getting passed along, maybe even around the world, from friend to friend, or stranger to stranger.

The thought is simple:
1) don't hold onto the material (letting go and passing on the bracelet) - hold onto the thought that someone cares about you.
2) show people you care about them as well (giving a bracelet) – when you make someone else's day, it makes your day. When you help someone through something, it helps you become a better person. People will remember in their hearts that one time you made life a little more beautiful for them.

Don't forget to share the love...

Word, Words & More Words...

Lately, I have been thinking about words... When all is said and done, too much is said and not enough is done. Don't get me wrong--words are so amazing. When put together in the correct order they can invoke such an array of emotion, have life-altering effects, kill people, and save peoples’ lives. The best part is that anyone can have this ability and the power to affect the world in any way they want. This is one of the reasons I love writing. But sometimes too much is said, and words lose meaning when you don't take action. I've made many statements over the last few months that I haven't actually done. It's like making new years resolutions you never actually end up keeping. I think it's time to change that. I feel like it's really time for action and change in my life...