Teen Drinking, Is It The Norm?

I chose to do this blog because I not only do I think that I have a good amount of knowledge on this topic being that I am a freshman in college and also because I was just wanted to raise some awareness of this topic. Drinking has always been a big thing in America, even during the times of prohibition, drinking still flourished because people found there way around the law and because there was always alcohol available even though it was illegal. The same goes for today. Although drinking is legal at this point of time in America, It is not for a certain age group, and the group I am talking about is teenagers. This group of people, just like the people during the times of prohibition, have found away to obtain and drink alcohol despite the law that frowns upon it. Drinking is so common for teenagers because it is virtually at any given party that you go to and because it makes the night that much crazier and more wild. People at this age aren't really looking to have a romantic dinner at night, or go for long walks on the beach, they are looking to get wild and party and this is exactly what alcohol helps to achieve. In my eyes, I do not even see this ever changing because there is no way to stop it no matter what the law or people try to enforce. 

Obtaining alcohol is definitely not the issue because many teens have fake i.d.'s or many teens have freinds that are of legal age to drink that help get them the alcohol. This will never change though because there is no way to stop it. Furthermore, I cannot be the only one aware of this, in fact I am not the only one aware of this because i know vast amounts of parents and adults that know about this and are fine with this because this is what they did when they were at that age so it really does not seemed to have been a big issue for anymore except the law enforcement, and they cannot even enforce it. It is like a cycle that seems to be on going that is always going to remain. I do question the law sometimes though because anyone who is 18 years old is allowed to vote, enlist in the military and die for ones country, serve jury duty, pay taxes, and in the state of California, a 14 year old can even have an abortion without telling her parents. What constitutes someone who is 18 to be eligible of all this but not sound of mind to drink? Well, who knows, it does not really matter to me, i am just making the subject more aware to people. I have contemplated if anything would change if they the law lowered the drinking age to 18, but I could not really come up with an answer because I do not necessarily think it is a solution, rather something that makes legal the inevitable. That could help or hurt our country but I think in the long run it would be fine. 

Point being is that alcohol has just consumed teens from the ages of 17-20 and everybody knows about it but does not really take action in putting an end to it. It is an ongoing cycle that seems to keep repeating as the years go on. It was arguably the most renown trend in America is you look closely at the topic. 

Rap and Hip Hop

As Music seems to have been a apart of everyones life and kept fueling our mind-states due to its ability to influence on the way we act and feel, one aspect of music really seems to have propelled to an outstanding part of society and really has become a norma in our culture, and that is Rap And Hip Hop. Do not get me wrong, rock, reggae, blues, metal and all those genres keep progressing and developing into new styles as time goes on, but rap and hip hop has seemed to do it more so then all these other genres. Anywhere we go now, we seem to here hip hop, in cars driving by booming there huge basses to the beats of hip hop, in clubs it is the music that we all get down to, on television, on the radio, and so on and so forth. The list can keep going. This music style has hit are culture so hard that it is just completely engraved in our society. Sure, the senior citizens might not be approving, but they are not the ones that keep music going and exploit, it is the younger generation and these are the people that is this music genre has completely surrounded and engulfed.

I myself, do listen to a lot of hip hop and rap. I love the genre. Although I was not raised on it because my mother was a hippie and listens to predominately the oldies, I got into it in late middle school, early high school. At this time, rap and hip hop was still going on its upward slant and making its way into our society as a norm. As i got more into it, I learned about its origins and where it really started gaining notability and I searched deeper into it. You had groups and artists like Public Enemy, Run DMC and Funk Master Flex introducing this funk and groove to our culture. It became a culture shock and people started to listen to this music. Then in the late 1980's and early 1990's you had an artist named Dr. Dre and his group NWA who really pushed rap to the next level. Dre really incorporated this funk style to his rhythm and it was like nothing anyone had ever heard before. After his group NWA had a fallout, Dr. Dre went on to produce his own raps and find and make music for artists like Snoop Dogg and Tupac. He was pretty much the one who was solely responsible for making rap what it is. As time went on Artists like Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. and several non mainstream artists began to push hip hop and rap even further into our society. It was becoming of the norm. Soon after, you have An artist named Eminem, who Dr. Dre took under his wing and provided music for his raps, that would propel rap and hip hop to another level. Eminem was the first real white rapper and he gained lots of criticism for his unique and vulgar lyrics but fans and people seemed to love it and went crazy. 

From there on, more and more artists seemed to have been getting into this industry and making more of this music. It has changed though because it has become more about the music rather then the lyrics. The music is being made to boom in cars, be played in clubs, and be played at parties. It has become so large that it is a must have whenever you go somewhere where there is a lot going on. People like Kanye West, T.I. and Lil Wayne have had such an influence on the sound that so many people have become so obsessed with it. It is really quite astounding if you look at it to really realize that this genre has done to our population. It has singlehandedly taken over and become a part of our everyday life whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.

Basketball in America

Basketball. I have grown up watching this game ever since I was a young lad. All throughout my childhood and till this exact point in my life, I have been a huge Laker fan. I always thought it was super exciting to watch due to the fact that it is very rapid paced and the incredible skill displayed in some of the amazing players and what they are doing on the court to win is so beyond me. But growing up I noticed something, I noticed that basketball was kind of in a slump. It had people like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Karl Malone, Gary Payton and Michael Jordan fueling it throughout the years and making it more exciting to watch because these players were flat out amazing. After Michael left the league though, I think that something happened, i feel as if basketball in America became very overlooked and people started to not think to much of it. Baseball and Football seemed to just be dominating and fueling sports more than any others. 

As I watched basketball go in to this slump, I kept watching the Lakers, but it seemed as if no one wanted to every watch a game with me or every wanted to get involved in the exciting nature of it anymore. it astonished me but I was a little to young to really take this into account, I am just looking back on it. Soon after, a player who had been receiving a vast amount of attention, really jump-started his career and put a throttle on basketball, his name is Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers got teemed up with Shaquille O'neal, who had already been an all-star, and they pushed basketball to a new extreme. These two players would make history after playing in some of the most exciting series of games that basketball had every seen. These two players carried the Los Angeles Lakers to 3 back to back championships and made the league a lot more interesting to watch. After these golden years, Shaq would go on to get traded from the Lakers, but even though he had left and the championship run came to an end, more players started entering the league and making it become more exciting and the playoffs started getting very competitive. The San Antonio Spurs went on to win 3 championships from 2005 to 2007 which were very exciting games to watch also. 

Now basketball is very exciting and has regained its audience and has got itself out of this slump. Players in the league right now are becoming to big and so talented that talent is very widespread throughout the NBA and the league as a whole is very fun to watch. We have players like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Carmello Anthony and so on, who are all on different teams who are all making the sport very exciting and thrilling to watch. Basketball has almost become sort of a culture shock to America in these past few years because so many extremely talented individuals are playing the game now and it has become so competitive that Americans are becoming fixated on it. I am glad to see this regain of faith in basketball and i hope to see it keep flourishing as it is right now.

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Burgers

This might seem like a very plain topic, but I think i am going to raise some awareness on this one. As you and I both know, the burger is the all-American food. It is one of the only foods that we as a nation can claim is ours. It is almost like a tradition here. Burgers go way back. Nowadays, burgers and fries are ultimately everywhere we go. Burgers are a unique food because they can be made in so many different ways shapes and forms and awe can find them just about anywhere that we go.

Burgers are eaten by most of the population in the United States. Your probably thinking, well some people are vegetarians so that is not true, but there is a such thing as a veggie burger and those are very popular too. This is why burgers are so unique, and plus they can be prepared in various ingredients and cooked to your preference. When you go to a more upscale diner, you are usually asked how you want your burger prepared, you can order is as medium, medium well, medium rare, rare or well done. Something that is amazing though is how fast food places have harnessed burgers over the years. They make then small, cheap and tasty. You know that when your eating one of these burgers that your thinking to yourself how cheap these burgers are but you continue due to the sheer fact that they are usually 99 cents on the value menu and are tasty. Probably the only fast food burger that you will ever  order and be completely satisfied with is an In n out burger. I do not know their secret but whatever it is, it works. At fast food places you cannot order your burger to your temperature that you like because it is a health hazard and well done is all that you are going to receive. Furthermore, you can grill burgers yourself on the barbecue and add all the necessary ingredients on your burger to make it meet your perfect standard. This is another reason that the burger is so unique. it is one of the only meals where you can pile so many different types of ingredients on it to make it more tasty. You have lettuce, onions, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, pickles and cheese. It is amazing how much you can do with a burger.

Burgers are really popular as you can see. Everyday there are tons millions of people in burgers in all sort of different ways whether is be through fast food places, at a diner, or just home cooked. It is a meal that you can always fall back and depend on because no matter where you go, you will most likely have the option of getting a burger and french fries. They are tasty and usually affordable and can be customized to the way that you like it. It is the all-American food.

Italian Food

There is a lot of different types of foods. In fact there are so many different types of foods that we most likely will not even have had half of these foods in our life time. There is one kind of food that that has stood out amongst all and is eaten in just about every country in this world, and that is Italian food. You are probably thinking that yes, you already knew this but if you look deeper into it, you will be astounded by how much Italian food is used and and eaten every single day.

From pastas, to pizzas, sauces and meats to all sorts of delicious snacks and appetizers and all those herbs that we use daily such as basil, parsley,oregano and garlic, we can see that  Italian food is everywhere. Even if you are not eating Italian food, you are probably using toppings that originate from Italy for more spice to your meal. It is amazing. When you go to ultimately any diner, you will see that they have a section for pastas. You can argue that pasta is one of the most eaten meals in society today. The most standard pasta would be spaghetti or penne, with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese. Every single bit of food on that plate is of Italian decent. Moreover, think about all those cheeses that we cherish also like provolone, parmesan and mozzarella, they are everywhere. All those string cheeses we head growing up consisted of mozzarella and all pizzas either consist of mozzarella or parmesan which is also an Italian cheese. Think about how big pizza is in the United States. Everybody eats pizza. I was watching a clip on television about what the average family eats in each country and when it showed the Unites States families, pizza consisted of a huge amount of our daily intake. To add to that, the main topping that is on pizza is usually pepperoni, which is also an Italian meat. Think about how much salami is eaten everyday in sandwiches or any kind of meal of that sort. There is also pancetta which is an Italian bacon used for flavor on many dishes and there is also prosciutto which is a very common meat. Furthermore, how much marinara sauce is used everyday. Marinara is just as big as ranch or bigger. Also we use spices daily to make our foods stand out and be more delicious. Parsley, garlic and basil are some of the most popular herbs in the world.

Take a look at what you are eating next time and see if there is anything that resembles Italian descent on it. As you probably now can see, Italian food dominates us consumers. It is just one of those foods that can be used in so many instances.

Jack in the Box Ad's

Something that has continually kept up its originality and caught our attentions over the years are the Jack in the Box advertisements. They are so captivating and clever that it seems to woe us in every time we see one of them. They have got to the point where people will even mention a Jack in the Box advertisement to someone else in regards to how funny the commercial was and ask them if they have seen it. I think that Jack in the Box has a great market scheme going on and if they keep up the cleverness it will only keep attracting people for time to come, not to mention that they also have superb value menu.

The character "Jack" is known to all across the United States. He has been exposed as a piece of merchandise or through commercials. The commercials are what seem to prevail due to the sheer fact that Jack is always doing something different in each commercial. But in the end, the commercial somehow captivates us as an audience whether it be through laughter or just through its uniqueness. Even if you do not find the commercial funny, you will find yourself looking at it because of its uniqueness and individuality. Jack in the Box has a pretty good thing going on with these commercials and if they are able to preserve the originality of the ad, it will benefit their franchise for years to come.

Furthermore, Jack in the Box is everywhere. It is a national hit and people usually like to resort to Jack in the Box in times of urgency and quickness for food. Also some people are just plain out addicted to it. The value menu is phenominal and nearly perfect. It literelly has any kind of food for 99 cents. The two tacos for 99 cents are most definitely the largest hit on the value menu. It is almost a steal because if you buy 2 dollars worth of tacos you are bound to be full. Genius marketing on their part. The value menu also makes perfect for those hungry and lurking drunks at 2 or 3 in the morning. These people have the drunk munchies and order up a storm. Most Jack in the Box's are open 24 hours too which puts them ahead of the game. I know that I, almost 100 percent of the time , only order off the value menu. The value menu is also economy friendly because of its affordability. A combination of all these things make Jack in the Box superior to most fast food places.

If you look at what Jack in the Box has done, you can see how much they are dominating in all these different aspects. Over the years Jack in the Box has only become more well known and I think that the path that they are headed on will only continue to gain them recognition for time to come. Remember next time you are watching television, look out for one of those Jack in the Box commercials and see what they do that is so captivating.

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Sushi

When I was trying to figure out what to write about for my last blog, something dawned in my head. I thought of sushi and i thought it would be perfect. Sushi has become such a large part of our society and it is amazing. Most people you talk to eat sushi nowadays and it is a treat for us. Not only is it delicious, but it also is healthy if you do not abuse it. Furthermore, sushi has become a spot where people come together for business because it provides such a great atmosphere and it is so universal. It is such a gigantic culture shock here because it has completely taken over become a regular answer for the "what should we eat" question. Even the tradition has been brought over here for eating it with chopsticks. Sushi comes in such variety too, you have so many choices for what you can eat, and usually to start off you get the delicious edinami or miso soup which sets the pace for the rest of the course.

As i said previously, sushi is healthy. It is high in minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates and proteins. Seafood is naturally low in fat so sushi don't pose an obesity risk. In addition, sushi is served with vegetables for the most part too and that is what provides most of the vitamins and minerals. It is a safe choice to eat most of the time. Sushi can pose a pretty major risk though. Some fish can carry high levels of mercury which can be hazardous when consumed in high amounts. This isn't a major risk to you if you eat sushi in moderation it is something to be cautious and considerate of.

The culture shock is what is most amazing about it though. Throughout the years it has just become more and more normal in our society today to eat. The japanese tradition of eating it with chopsticks or your hands has even kept up here in America. Most people don't even eat sushi unless they have chopsticks. Which comes as a shock to me is that that people that i know that have visited japan and had sushi there said sushi in America was just as good and even better. If this is true, we are even more spoiled than we already are. Something that interests me though is how much it has become a spot for business interactions. If you ever go out to sushi, look around and notice that there is almost always a couple people dressed up in business outfits, and they are also in their own area a little secluded from everyone. I think this is because the atmosphere of sushi is perfect and it is a richer food so it fits that cliche perfectly.

As Mr. Tsuyuki always says in class to make sure that we always ask the question why, I wrote this making sure that i was going to be able to answer this. Sushi has shocked this culture so greatly that most people don't even notice it which is the why. It has become such a norm to us and relish in it's greatness without even realizing that we have patented it. Also how it has become such a big spot for business interactions is remarkable. That is something most people definitely don't take into account because it has happened so low key.

Smoothies

Since we haven been talking about food and coming up with interesting thoughts on them and how much they have become a shock, I decided to expand on that thought and talk about smoothies. What made me think to choose this in specific was when i was walking on campus earlier and I just had a sudden urge to get smoothie. I headed over to Robeks Smoothies and the line was huge and it made me think of how perfect this would be to talk about on a blog. If you think about all the reasons people get smoothies, it is astounding and this list just goes on. I am guilty too because i do indulge in smoothies very often and utilize them for various reasons.

Smoothies offer so much too people. There are millions of people who start their whole day off by getting smoothies because its a jump start. To make it even more legitimate, the smoothies offer free boosts, anything from energy, to protein, to immune. It is so cool. It substitutes for a meal perfectly. If you are sick you can get one and get all the vitamins from it and get the immune booster, if your tired and just got done playing sports or doing some sort of activity it provides refreshment and you can get the energy booster to renew yourself. To even go beyond those standpoints, Smoothies are just delicious. There are so many different flavors to revel in so its almost everlasting. The most popular of all the places that serve these smoothies to my knowledge is Jamba Juice, it is spread out across California in all sorts of states, but you have places like Robeks and Juice it Up doing the same sort of thing. This enables people to have more access to them also. The thing that is most surprising about this is that I don't remember smoothies being so popular in the 1990's and playing as much of a role in our lives as they do now. 

If you think about the concept of a smoothie, it is quite fascinating. Taking a mixture of all sorts of fruits and even special smoothies with gummy bears in them and things like that and just adding a scoop of ice and blending it, you have a delicious and pretty nutritious drink. You can go as far as calling it a meal because it can totally substitute for one and they are very filling. Think about how many peoples routines consist of consuming a smoothie to start off their day or end their day. 

This just hit me today, all the things I just went over. It astounds me because i hadn't realized what an impact smoothies have had on us Americans. They slowly just took over and have become a part of our lives and I brought this up because I wanted to point that out. People have smoothies and we are reliant on them now, just think about if they took smoothies away from you, how much would this disappoint or disgruntle you at this point.

Tacos

So i recently I have been glancing around and have been looking for any kinds of foods that impact our society greatly whether we know it or not. After a few days of going about my normal day to day routines and working, something dawned in my head; Happy Hour. Everywhere i go seems to have some kind of happy hour and is promoting it, whether the place is mexican food, italian, american, you name it. It might be because of the economy or it might just be because it is a good idea, who knows, but the point I am trying to get across is that Tacos are everywhere now. They have become a phenomenon and I don't think that anyone realizes it. They are so universal that they are made at peoples homes for dinner, grilled for big sporting events, at bars and restruants for meals or for happy hour and there are various taco stands you notice throughout the city. Tacos have become a culture shock. All races and nationalities eat tacos. I have thought about it and I can only come up with one reason; They are simple. The thing about Tacos is that all you need is a tortilla (flower or corn), some meat (any kind) and maybe some cheese, guacamole and salsa if thats your thing. It is so easy and tastes so good. They are also creepers when it comes to filling you up because they sure do even though they might not appear to be filling. 

 They are also an economy friendly food. Businesses sell them for cheap with some sort of drink, usually beer, and people want to come buy them because they are price friendly and delicious. It is a win for both the producer and the consumer. I have been seeing more and more businesses starting to do happy hour and tacos are usually the header on it, and i am not just talking about mexican restruants, I am talking about all sorts of places. I like it though, They are tasty and easy to make and very suitable. It is also nice becuase they are so fast to make if you are on-the-go and you need something quick. I guess if you look at it in a very honest way, Tacos are dominating because they are so suitable for us in all aspects.

Like i was saying previously, at events for activities, or fiestas, or sporting event congregations or even just hanging out and making food, tacos are always their. I went to 3 Superbowl parties, including mine, and tacos with carne asada and chicken were the premier food at all places, and everyone was bragging about how delicious and ambrosial the tacos were, and I must admit, so was I. Furthermore, tacos bring everyone together. They are fun to grill and you get to chat with people and congregate. Tacos add this very serene atmosphere they people seem to enjoy.

Tacos have slowly become a big part of our society in terms of food. Whether you realize it or not they have just become so optimal that they are so accepted as a food.  It is quite shocking if you really can fathom how much they have become a part of our community. 

Tomorrow is superbowl and i am super amped on it.