Equality; pg. 206

"Equality is an important cultural myth in the United States, although beliefs may appear contradictory to actions" (Jandt, pg. 206). Equality rights for all different diverse groups within the United States is still a concept many Americans have not dealt to appreciate or even accept. Equality to me means that we all have the same rules for both men and women. Is it really fair that women have more protection laws than men? Is it fair that a homosexual man gets punished for hitting a woman, although clearly homosexual men are placed below women in society? Is it fair and equal to have double standards for men to have sex deemed as the right thing and women as whores? Is it fair that Caucasians still have more advantages than minorities? Is it right to deny health care to those who cannot afford health insurance? None of these are right or even fair. As a gay man myself, I am faced with the ever ending question of equal rights marriage amongst the LGBT community. Was it right to say that two men or women would hurt a child? Is it even right for heterosexual couples to divorce and still end up hurting a child? NO!!! This is outrageous. Whatever happened to the separation of church and state. How is right that we cannot learn about religion in school, yet we use religion to control the state? It is wrong and immoral in so may different ways. From Women's Rights to Civil Rights to Rights of Freedom and now the LGBT Rights, we have yet a long way to go as Americans and the world. The following clip is a song from The Black Eyed Peas called "Where is the Love?". I like the entire song because of what it stands for and I believe it means not only equality, but unity, diversity, freedom, and fairness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc. From the 3:00 to 3:15 minute marks, one of the singers describes a question to the cop of why he is putting up those question marks. This song demonstrates how far America as a nation has not yet made too much effort into being diverse among so many things. Jandt also discusses that "the sense of equality extends to freedom to decide with whom to associate and occasional disregard for hierarchical structures" (Jandt, pg. 206). In the end, equality will prevail and people will soon discover that they have been wrong for the structuring of their ways of thinking and traditions.

Feng Shui: pg. 122

"Chinese geomancy, feng shui (pronounced fung SCHWAY), is the art of manipulating the physical environment to establish harmony with the natural environment to achieve happiness, prosperity, and health" (Jandt, pg. 122). Feng Shui is a way of harmonizing and harnessing the positive energy as to keep a healthy balance for a great and prosperous life. I love moving furniture around my room as to gain a more positive and well-balanced sense of energy. When I was in the eighth grade, I remember that I always had a big room and easy to move furniture that every month or so, I would end up rearranging my room because I needed a sense of well-being and balance in my life. It worked with such success that I felt balance, but neutral energy from my mom because she did not like the idea that I kept switching my room around. One day, when I own my own home, I will be able to  move my furniture in every room as to gain the sense of positive energy and well-being. There is a three minute video clip that demonstrates ten useful ideas of keeping balance in the home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5atOfOlZ6XU

At the end of the video, there is a link to the site of the Elizabeth, who demonstrates the ten ways of feng shui. Here is the link: http://www.space-lift.com/SpaceLift/welcome.html.

Kinesics: pgs. 113-116

"Gestures, body movements, facial expressions, and eye contact are behaviors termed kinesics" (Jandt, pg.113)" How kinesics work is that there are different ways of the same symbol that mean different things in differing countries. "The "V for victory" sign made popular during World War II by Winston Churchill is appropriately made by showing the palm. In the united States in the late 1960s, the same gesture became a symbol for peace (Dresser, 1996). When former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made a "V for victory" sign during an election campaign, she showed the back of her hand. That gesture signifies at least nine different obscenities!" (Jandt, pg. 115). This demonstrates how the gesture of the peace sign (what I believe to be the sign for peace or peace out) is looked upon in certain cultures. Another example of that is the eye contact part of the kinesics. "A wink is improper in Australia and impolite in parts of Asia. People from Asian, Latin American, Caribbean, and American Indian backgrounds may offer respect by avoiding eye contact. Looking someone directly in the eyes may be interpreted as a provocation that can lead to violence. Repeatedly blinking the eyes is considered impolite in Taiwan and Hong Kong (Armstrong & Wagner, 2003). In parts of the United States, such as Appalachia, more people have heard of the belief in the "evil eye" - the power attributed to certain persons of inflicting injury or bad luck by a look" (Jandt, pg. 116). This all demonstrates the kinesics of certain and typical behaviors demonstrated by movements and gestures and the like. An example with my family, although I am half Nicaraguan, my dad holds the belief of always looking a person in the eye when being talked to because that is a sign of respect and understanding. When I do not look him in the eyes, he gets made and irritated. Another example, when I listen and not look, my mom gets upset that I am not giving her my full undivided attention and that is an example of the kinesics that belong to my household and upbringing. To me, I could care less of eye contact, as long as people understand and listen to what I have to say. If I feel they are not attentive to me, I have to make sure they are giving me some eye contact.

Anxiety:pg. 82

Jandt describes anxiety as the first barrier in miscommunication as a way that people become because of not knowing what to do or are expected to do given the situation. Anxiety can lead to miscommunication and this is a problem that hold people back from going out there and learning from their mistakes.When I become anxious over something, it holds me back because I feel like I do not want to make a mistake or to feel out of place. From personal experience, I feel anxious all the time because I am a gay man surrounded in a sea of heterosexuals, but specifically the heterosexual males. There is already enough stigma upon the gay community that me me so anxious around heterosexual males because I am expected to like females and to "act tough". The fact is, not all males act the same way whether they are homosexual or heterosexual as society has become able to accept that there are different types of the male role model in both the homosexual and heterosexual roles. The picture above typically shows what a person with anxiety may look like; however, the effects of anxiety are typically not good if it ever goes out of control. 

Reference Group: pg. 28

According to Jandt, "the term reference group refers to any group to which one aspires to attain membership (Sherif & Sherif, 1953). (Jandt, pg. 28)" Jandt describes this behavior as the "wanna-be" personality and what I believe this to be is like someone, who for example, claims to be a black belt in Karate, yet they harness the skills of a white belt. I watch a show on Nick at Nite called 'The Nanny' and in season two episode nine, Fran Fine needs to enter a club for gentlemen and no women are allowed in this club. The reason she needs to do this is because her date nearly bluffs to her boss, Maxwell Sheffield, into $100,000 to get back into the stock market. So here is a clip to demonstrate that she is a wanna-be man to get into this club. Play this clip starting at the 5:56 minute mark. You can watch the entire clip if you like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygGvwzC5zXU&playnext=1&list=PL61471C6C2F210CE4
How this term relates to my life is that there have been many times where I wish I was another race or ethnicity (other terms used in this book). There have been times where I would like to identify myself as white or even Asian, but I am what I am and that is Latino. Also, there have been times where I "wanna-be" a part of a group of new friends and that itself is wrong because I have been told I cannot be them, but I can be me and only me.