Post 3: Tattoos and Teens

Should I get a tattoo? What should I get one of? I believe these are the universal questions for most teenager who wants to find some way to express themselves. I feel like teenagers go through a phase were getting a tattoo sounds so good and they must have one. I know that I go through this same phase very so often but usually end up having doubts about getting one. I liked this article about tattoos and teenagers because it wasn’t a question about whether teens should get tattoos but a matter of what they should get, where they should get it on their bodies and what would it mean to themselves and the people around them. A lot that was said in the article laid out the pros and cons of getting a tattoo for me. For instances a con to getting a tattoo would be that even though our generation sees tattoos as a way of expressing oneself the older generations tend to see tattoos as a sign of rebellion and problems in the future; and a pro would be that with society telling us how to dress and how to act tattoos are more and more seeming to be the only thing that is original to you yourself that no one else can have. The article also talks about getting a tattoo that represents a culture that is different from your own and how that sometimes can be a hard choice to make. I, for one, always wanted a Swahili symbol which means “Hakuna matata”- no worries because I like the meaning and think the symbol is very beautiful.
Every time I go through a phase of really wanting a tattoo I usually back out of it for many reasons. For one, I believe that if you have any doubt about getting it than it is not right for you. TATTOOS ARE PERMANENT! You better love what you are PERMANENTLY putting on your body! Two. My parents are very easy going people but getting tattoos, to them, is out of the question and they probably wouldn’t talk to me for a very long time. I have a great relationship with my parents so I care, very much, what they think of me. Tattoos are awesome and I admire them on many people. I think that they show originality in many people but I think for me, as of now, I will show my originality by not getting a tattoo during a time were tattoos are such a phase.

Post 2: autism

I believe that people who have autism have both a gift and a burden. They have a gift in that they can see the world in a different way from others but have a burden in that their needs are not always met by society. It is amazing how people with autism see the world and understand it in a different way than how I see things. Temple Grandin author of “Autism- The Way I See It” talks about how many autistic people see and think in pictures. Over the summer I worked with a little boy named Ethan as his A.B.A. Therapist and Mobile Aid for his summer camp. I saw him every day over the summer and a week after the program was done I went over his house to hang out with the family. I had worn my hair up every day at camp but that day I decided to wear my hair down to go to their house. At first Ethan didn’t seem to remember me and it took him a few minutes to figure out who I was and ask me to do things with him that we did over camp. His parents told me that he wasn’t used to seeing me with my hair up and, mentally, he was flipping through his picture book so see who I was. To see through pictures that could change on you seems like a scary thing but the fact that these pictures could be altered to match what was going on in the present was really cool to me.

Both Temple Grandin and Donna Williams mentioned created a more “ autism- friendly world”. They talk about how most of the people in today’s society learn and live in a visual world and how autism is separate from this visual world. I believe that people with autism are some of the brightest and most fascinating people in the world and with the growing number of people who are being born with autism shouldn’t it make sense to have programs and other things in the world that are autism- friendly? I agree with both authors that it is important to make people with autism a part of the community and cater to their needs even though they may not be the same needs as the majority of the world. I believe that by helping others we can help ourselves and improve eveyone’s way of living.

Art's Role

Art plays a very important role in my life. Other than the fact that it is beautiful and nice to look at, it also has a personal function to it. When I see an art piece that I like and that speaks to me I always have to stop and appreciate its form. I look at very part of it and to see different aspects of it that I can relate to or see myself in. I, myself, am not a great artist so when I see paintings like this one I am amazed at what this artist did. I feel as though the artist had made this painting for me because I love every piece of it. Because I know that the artist doesn’t know me and doesn’t know exactly what I like, it makes me believe that there is someone out there who likes what I like and who canunderstands me. It is like finding lyrics to a song that fits your mood right at that moment. Do you ever think, wow someone else knows exactly what I am feeling and exactly what I am going through?

Art has that kind of effect on me. It lets me know that I am not alone and that someone out there is feeling what I feel, likes what I like, and can express my thoughts and feelings into an art piece or a song. Art is great in that way because it doesn’t matter if the person who is making the art pieces speaks the same language that I do or lives in the same neighborhood. Art is more “up to your interpretation”, it is wordless and in that sense beautiful to different groups of people in different ways. For instance, you may look at this art piece and see somewhat abstract flowers in a vase. But I see how I felt going hiking with my friends and finding the perfect stop by the waterfall to lie down and feel the sun on my skin. Art brings me to places I have been and places that I have yet to travel. This is what role art plays in my life.

Question: In what ways is music an art?