Loving Myself Every Day

Paper 4 Final

Grace Horner

Fundamentals of Journalism: Paper 4

Dr. Ross Fuglsang

December 8, 2010

Holly Habrock has everything going for her.  She has a degree as an esthetician, a job as a personal assistant, and her own apartment in Omaha, Nebraska.  Her boyfriend has a promising job as an air traffic controller for the air force.  Her family is loving and supportive, with her sister living on the other side of town.  But Holly’s life wasn’t always so good.  When her home life got difficult during her high school years, Holly had a dark secret that she used as a coping mechanism.

Holly developed bulimia in high school.  She started throwing up at the age of fourteen.  There were a number of reasons she made herself throw up.  “I got into a bad crowd.  I think a lot of it was the internet,” she says, “This girl added me because she saw my profile on myspace.  I remember her telling me how great it was to be skinny.”

But Holly also had troubles at home.  Her father was emotionally abusive towards her and her mom.  “I wasn’t Holly,” she says, “I was ‘hey bitch’, or ‘come here you little whore.’”

Holly’s father was also an alcoholic and dabbled in using drugs.  Holly believes that he has used marijuana and cocaine, as well as heroin and meth. 

Because of those issues, her mother developed her own mental issues.  “She got really weird.  I think it was because of the shit with my dad.  I wasn’t in the best shape either, my sister had just gone to college, and her uncle had died.  I think it was a mixture of all those things.  She felt like she wasn’t needed anymore,” Holly says sadly.

“When I made myself puke,” she says, “everything bad in my life when down the toilet.  It was a release for me.”

Bulimia didn’t just affect Holly’s relationship with her family.  It affected her schooling; she missed forty days of school during her sophomore year of high school.  She started having headaches, and was in and out of the hospital for stomach problems – which were aggravated by heavy drinking.  She also had a toxic relationship with her boyfriend at the time.  “He knew and was ok with it, so I saw him as kind of a safe person,” Holly says.  “I latched onto him.”

Due to her bulimia and the other problems at home, Holly also pulled away from her family.  And she didn’t have many friends.  “I was a total bitch to everyone,” Holly says.

She had reached the point where she didn’t even care about weight.  After years of doing it, it was an urge; just something she had to do.

When she reached 85 pounds, her family started to realize something was wrong.  After dinner one night, Holly went into the bathroom to throw up.  That night was different though, because her mom heard her gagging and retching.  Her parents and sister sat her down and staged and intervention.  “My mom and sister starting crying, they said they didn’t want to lose me,” Holly says.  “I didn’t know they cared.”

So the healing started.  Her family started going to counselor after counselor.  When they found one that worked, it helped a lot.  “She helped me learn that I didn’t that,” Holly says.  “I just needed to be myself.  They threatened that if I didn’t stop, my heart would give out and I would die.  I already had heart issues from when I was a baby.” 

After three years, Holly had finally gotten healthy.  She is now a beautiful, bright 21-year-old woman with her whole life ahead of her.  “My faith helped me through a lot,” Holly says.  “That and the support of my friends and family.”

Healthcare Reform Broadcast

Healthcare Reform Broadcast

Friday 12/3

This guy is apparently responsible for over 1/3 of the spam you’ve received.

Read the full story here.

Sure spam is annoying.  Yes it CAN spread viruses to your computer.  But is it really worth arresting someone over?  This story is very relevant to everyone with an e-mail account.  But this story is not worth the time at all. I don’t think anyone would read this unless they were really really REALLY sick of getting spam e-mails.

Weekly News post

Amish fireplaces were reviewed on MSNBC this week.  Aparrently, these things are a total rip off, but make a ton of false promises.

Read the full story here.

Stories like these are important for consumers to read.  Especially in an economic crisis like the one we are in.  Essentially, this article can save you $300 dollars.  That doesn’t seem like much, but it is when we’re in a recession.

Healthcare Reform Rough Draft

As students get ready to graduate from college, questions about the future can become quite stressful.  President Obama has already had great success with college-aged groups, but he has found more support with the passing of healthcare reform.  Its given students who are graduating from college one less thing to worry about: buying health insurance.

The most appealing part of the healthcare bill – for college students, at least – is that it allows a student to stay on their parents’ company-provided health insurance until they are 26-years of age. 

[Quote from college student about the helpfulness of the new law]

This provision of the bill was included for a few reasons.

First off, the number of college students with health insurance will increase drastically.  Even though the current 67% who are covered are a vast majority, the new law will cause it to increase.  More parents will have health insurance than before and they will be more able to cover their students medical needs.

Also, students will now be able to take time off without losing coverage.  Before healthcare reform, students were only covered when enrolled full time and even then, just until graduation.  Now that the new age limit is 26-years-old, students will be able to take a year off to work or travel, and then still have time after graduation to enjoy their parent’s insurance coverage.  Students can now work at a more comfortable pace and maybe pay their own way through college.

Finally, the overall health of all students will improve.  When students don’t have health insurance, they tend to ignore symptoms and infect others.  Sometimes, they avoid taking the full course of antibiotics, saving the rest for the next time they are ill.  Mental health issues and sexually transmitted disease may go untreated, affecting more students than imaginable.  These things can affect the entire campus.  Issues like these may be less likely with proper health care.

[Quote from student health department]

Students may also find it appealing that the healthcare reform is bundled with a new law that will make student loans easier to apply for by taking the middle man out of the process.  For more information, students can talk to their financial aid office.

No matter which way a student’s political views sway, the benefits of both of these bills is undeniable.  Obama care is taking the majority of the debt out of student loans and the stress out of college graduation.

News Review

The governor of Florida is thinking of pardoning The Doors’ lead singer, Jim Morrison, after he was convicted of indecent exposure in 1969.

Read the full story here.

I liked how this story was written. The structure made a lot of sense to me.  I liked the order in which the facts were presented.  Also, this story is kind of relevant.  The writer talked about the governor has one last shot to pass something like this.  Due to the recent election, the governor is out of office in December.  Lastly, why is this such an issue now though?  Who cares if Jim Morrison never gets acquited? It’d be nice if the governor was thinking about more important issues.

Facebook approval is down

According to a recent survey, older generations are less satisfied with Facebook after the release of “The Social Network” movie.  However, 18- to 34-year-olds approval is up.

Read the full story here.

I think it’s sick that even CNN is obssess with Facebook.  I saw a TV show the other day where a mother didn’t even recognize her daughter because she was so addicted to a video game.  Is that what our generation is becoming with Facebook? I know people that find it harder and harder to get work because they are always on Facebook.  But what we don’t understand as a society is that Facebook, as wonderful of a “tool” – if you can call it that – as it is, will never replace face-to-face interaction and people-to-people connections that we as humans instinctually crave.

Gov. Branstad Speech

As governor, he went to every county in Iowa.  Now that he’s a former university president, Terry Branstad feels the importance of speaking at college campuses.  And his message of better financial aid resonates with those that saw him speak at Morningside.

“I support private and public higher education,” Branstad said in his speech.

Other topics that arose during Branstads speech were unemployment, the budget, gay marriage, and small businesses.  But financial aid was the big issue on everyone’s mind.  A teacher even asked about funding for community colleges.

Students at Morningside College, a $30,000 per year school were especially receptive to the idea of more financial aid.

“I like that Branstad is a friend of private education, Morningside could use a friend in a high place,” said Courtney Brown, a junior at Morningside.

The importance of financial aid is a refreshing break from hearing about such topics as gay marriage and abortion.  It’s a real issue that we can change right away.  And perhaps Branstad said it best himself when he said, “I want every kid to come to school ready to learn.”

TOES attempts to make campus greener

In the past few years, green has become more than just a color.  Going green is a movement that businesses, schools, and households are trying to accomplish.  TOES (Totally On Earth’s Side) is the student organization striving to make Morningside College a greener campus.

Already, Morningside has made two major accomplishments in going green.  The first is recycling.  Jim Stroh in the biology department applied for the $15,000 grant that made Morningside’s recycling initiative successful. 

“I recycle because it is no more difficult than throwing things in the trash,” said Emily Greenlee, a freshman.  “And it helps reduce waste.”because it is no more difficult that throwing things in the trash, and it helps reduce waste.

 Secondly, Morningside College’s kitchen uses only cage free eggs.  Not only that, but the source those eggs are bought from is recognized as being humane to their chickens by the Humane Society of America.

But there’s still a long way to go for the home of the Mustangs.

Right now, TOES is applying for grants and starting proposals to help make Morningside’s campus more green. 

For example, Morningside College’s sprinklers run even if it’s raining, and the lawn fertilizer being used is not biodegradable.  TOES has already started proposals for that.  And later this year, the college is bringing in some sustainability experts to see about making the college’s buildings more energy efficient. 

TOES is also planning on applying for a grant to build a Eco-house – a house where students live in a green and sustainable fashion in an energy efficient house.  Morningside College has already acquired land by the new student houses that could be used for this project.

Another idea that has met some resistance is trayless dining.  The only wait is for a written proposition from student government because it is hoped that it will be a student-led movement.

It seems that movement is well on its way though, because when asked what else Morningside could do to be greener, Greenlee says, “Trayless Tuesdays would help inspire more green activities.”

All of these movements, though are equally important.  “The major thing to Morningside green is to create a culture that is enthused about conservation,” says Dr. Tom Gilbert, a philosophy professor and faculty advisor for TOES.

But it’s not just TOES students who are excited about going green.  Jessica Standard, a senior, took a May Term class about how food impacts the environment.  Since the class she has become a vegetarian.

Standard says that she thinks Morningside College should reduce red meat consumption and offer more vegan options because the meat industry contributes a huge amount of methane gas to the atmosphere, which is much more harmful than carbon dioxide. 

“If we all gave up meat for one meal a day, we would greatly reduce our carbon emissions,” says Standard.

The best part about eating vegan foods, though, is that many companies that make vegan options are already making important contributions to the green movement.

If we don’t start taking environmental issues seriously it is not going to be our kids or our kids kids that have to deal with the problems that global warming is causing, it will be us. Our weather patterns are already fluctuating so dramatically and by taking small steps we all have the power to make a difference

“If we don’t start taking environmental issues seriously, it is not going to be our kids, or our kid’s kids that have to deal with the problems, it will be us,” adds Standard.

So whether you think it’s more helpful to change your diet, join TOES, or only turn off the water while you brush your teeth, the point is you’re joining the green movement.  And that’s enough.

Weekly Article

This week, the FBI charged 133 people (including 90 police officers) with trafficking drugs through Puerto Rico.

Read the full story here.

This story is a little shocking to me.  Though yes, we are talking about a part of Latin America, Puerto Rico is a province of the United States.  I think this story would have been less shocking had it taken place in a place like Colombia or Costa Rica.  Especially with so many law enforcement officials being charged as well, it is especially shocking.  It’s nice to think that our politicians and public service officials are not corrupt.  And maybe in a place that is not under a real “rule” by the United States, it’s easier to understand.