...that's what she said.

Is the phrase of all phrases. Somewhere within the past five to ten years, somebody decided that this particular phrase/saying was funny, I admit, the first time I heard it, it was funny. After the millionth time hearing it… not so much. I am sure the guy (because it had to have been a guy) who wittily conceived this saying was in some dorm, on a three day drinking binge, eating Twinkies, and smoking pot; respectively. And we do live in America so he is probably a millionaire for it (since our favorite pastime is to over-pay someone for their ignorance for example, Antoine Dobson- Google it). So who do we really idolize? Of course, we would say the appropriate thing that we should say. “I idolize/respect (the person that I am supposed to say God, my parents, my teachers, etc.).” If we honest though most people would just idolize crude or derogatory things because that’s what gets a good laugh or makes them feel good about themselves. So just go ahead and say it “I heart ignorance”.

So why did this become so popular? The same reason why any crude joke or phrase becomes popular. It is offensive and derogatory and someone in society decided that issues and situational jokes like that are funny or catchy. Maybe it was to lighten the mood of the severity of the issues. Women have always seemed to be the butt of all offensive sexual jokes. The era of “…that’s what she said.” Has long died; the guys just did not get the memo. My personal belief is that the wittiness of it, strokes their ego. Unfortunately, it was someone else’s wit, on a drunken night, so really? Get over yourselves and try to be original.

“Has it become annoying?” Of course. Is it because I am a girl and take offense to it? Probably. It is just overplayed. I have on numerous occasions tried to have a conversation with someone and they “being witty”, used that saying to the reply to everything. I am sure with the evolution of the internet you could find something…anything, that can be your new funny thing to say. Or if all else fails, use your brain. I know it is in there somewhere.

“…that’s what she said.” is not funny anymore. It has been worn, beaten, and left for dead; the guys just keep on trying to revive it. “Will it eventually die?” Of course, all things die. “Will we live to see it?” Probably not, but I would hate to be labeled a pessimist. So, when you are at the hotdog shop and you say, “That was the best hotdog! It really hit the spot!” and the douche bag sitting next to you says “…that’s what she said.” Just punch him in the face. Do not feel bad about it; just look at it as population control…that’s what I say.

The Proclamation of Me

Yep...that's it.

Education

Education in America is slowly crumbling. America, at one time, produced well-educated and dedicated individuals. Now, we are giving “slackers” a free ride just to get them out; only to recycle them with more slackers. Our testing score, especially in Georgia, are ridiculously low (though I do not particularly like the standardized test approach) and our students have other priorities that unfortunately do not include education. In twenty years, these will be the men and women that somehow have become our future. This is terrifying! The effects of this could be devastating for our future as well as theirs. Without some form of education you cannot get to far in life. Of course, there are the Bill Gates of the world, who dropped out of college to be an entrepreneur and that worked out in his favor. But how many Bill Gates do you know? I know a lot more Jays’ and Silent Bobs’.

Many of our current high school students are getting a free ticket to the diploma freeway. I have heard of many instances where a student is unruly and because of this, they are pushed through the system only to graduate with maybe a sixth grade education. This is not what education was founded on! Once upon a time, students respected teachers and enjoyed the aspect of learning. The effects the new era of diploma freeway will come back and bite us in the butt, believe that. We are coming into the age of “McDonaldization. ” when this happens it will basically mean that the majority of our working force is quite eligible to work in a minimum wage, production line, “May I help you?” job for the rest of their lives. Educated people with the drive to succeed will prove to be far more scarce and in between. The few times I have been “privileged” enough to walk through the doors of my high school has been like walking through the Stargate. “Where the hell am I?” The students are dressed as if they are going to the club directly after school and there is always some sort of yelling, bickering, or drama. In their eyes, school has nothing to do with education anymore. It has evolved into a fashion show, a social networking and hangout site and a bad episode of Jerry. Or for others, a street corner, where they can buy narcotics or other illegal substances and have the full ability to walk around high for eight hours and be sober by the time they get home.

The educational system will not change without drastic measures. It will probably mean a lot of teenage, hormone induced, riots. Be that as it may, something needs to be done. The teachers and administrators do not control the students anymore. The only way they have been able to deal with them is by pushing them along the freeway. This is not the answer! We have to figure out another way to get in the students heads. We have to explain to them that they are the future and what they do today effects us tomorrow.

Save the Girls

Of all the countries in the world, America is the worst when it comes to (wait for it…) boobs. We set double standards when it comes to the girls. Yes, they want you to “Save the Ta-Tas,” but make sure while you are saving them that you also keep them hidden, especially if you are on the heavy side. I am not condoning indecent exposure; however, when a woman cannot feed her child without getting dirty looks, that is wrong. Society also has a habitual tendency to let some things slide while condemning others for far less, for instance, the Playtex commercial versus a Victoria Secret’s commercial (which I will elaborate on later). We are teaching our young women that if you are skinny, flaunt it. If you are considered plus size, do everyone a favor and cover up. And we wonder why our teenagers and young adults have body image issues.
Recently, there was a lot of controversy over a Playtex commercial. It was the one with plus size girls in their bras. It was a perfectly harmless commercial; to be honest, it was refreshing to see plus size women so happy to be in their own skin. People were offended by this! They claimed they showed too much skin. I have seen more skin on Dancing with the Stars then in this commercial. What people really meant to say is that they did not think it was appropriate because of these women’s weights. How vain have we become? We are perfectly fine to watch Victoria Secret’s commercials all day. Is it because those models are more of what society says we should look like? They wear far less clothes then our friends at Playtex, but society overlooks that.
With all the controversy, what are we telling our young girls? “You are heavy so cover up.” Or, “You are skinny so let’s see what you got.” This is wrong. We are all equal, and we have to learn to stop judging people based on appearance or weight. A woman should be able feed her child anywhere without feeling self-conscious of her body, not to mention a lot of people staring as if they have never seen the phenomenon of motherhood. With the rise of anorexia, bulimia, and other self-destructive behaviors, isolating the plus size girls can be devastating for other girls that look up to them. Sixty percent of adults are overweight in America. You would think the Playtex girls would have been embraced. I am not saying obese people are better or skinny people are better. What I am getting at is that we are all different shapes and sizes, and we should respect that. Simple words or actions could be what could bring these girls over the edge to self-destruction of their bodies and their souls.
Somewhere over the past twenty years, America has decided that curvy is fat. Look back at the iconic Bettie Page. She was curvy and beautiful. Or Marilyn Monroe, size 12. The Playtex girls are also curvy and beautiful. Beauty is more than what is on the outside (cliché I know). A flower is beautiful, but an old oak tree is just as beautiful. That being said, even a beautiful girl can be ugly by what’s inside. Society labels and pegs people into different categories, and after they are labeled it is a pretty rough road to lose that label. We are “training” our future to act in the same manner. Our goal should be to get away from that line of thinking and to start loving people because they are people and not what kind of people we might think they look like. I know the thought of everyone loving everyone is a bit idealistic. We have got stop being hypercritical and learn to love it all. Love the “ta-tas.” Love the curves. Love the plus size and the skinny size – and love ourselves.

2040

In thirty years, life on Earth will be very different then what we are used to. Right now, we are accustomed to a post-industrial society. Everything we do in our everyday life has technology involved in some shape or form. I believe that the technology will only become more complex over the next thirty years. In thirty years, I predict, Earth will be technologically more advanced. This will lead to more robots, less jobs, and more control from the government.

On Earth, primarily in America, people are generally lazy. This will be the basis of the robotic era. Earth already has many robotic type machines that ultimately do the work for us. Most car manufacturing distributors no longer have humans making vehicles. Robots are cheaper, more efficient, and do not complain about long hours. This is great for the capitalists of the world and future robots; however, it is a disaster for the working class.

With the increase of machinery, a lot more people will suffer loss of jobs. Losing a job is damaging to the workers self-esteem, and in thirty years we will find many more people clinically depressed, over medicated, or incarcerated. The crime rate will increase, because people will be desperate to support their families. People will feel helpless and feel like they have lost control. This would be around the same time robots and the government will decide to take over the world.

In 2040, the government will control everything that goes on around us. They do to a large extent now and even in areas we are not aware of. Our armies will be composed of combat robots. This is a good thing because robots are expendable and I would rather lose a robot soldier that a real soldier with a real family. The only aspect of this that concerns me is that the government will have control of these warrior robots. This could be devastating if used in inappropriate ways. If Switzerland decides not to share its cheese with the cheese-loving general, he might send Optimus Prime to mess them up! If the state of Georgia decides to vote Republican again, we are goners. The control of the government will mean less control form us. We will lose our constitutional rights and gain robotic animosity.

2040 will be a tough time for Earth. It will juggle a robotic empire, deal with irate individuals with no jobs, and be taken over by a spineless, emotionless and heartless government and of course the robots. In thirty years, I will be almost sixty years old. Probably still alive (crosses fingers) and also potentially jobless. The thought of all this, sounds like it could be the next blockbuster hit of a predicable apocalyptic movie. Society underestimates the reality of it. We are like teenagers, invincible, never acknowledging that bad things can happen to us. It is very possible and likely that in thirty years, robots will be apart of our everyday life; good or bad. Yes, you will lose your job to a machine and of course robots (controlled by the government) are going to rule the world. "Roll out!"