Irony Paper

Boys Get Away With So Much
Audience: To teachers. Unfair because they wore the same thing. Boys get distracted.
It’s Friday and it’s Hinsdale Central High School’s first home football game. Each Friday the seniors have a theme to wear. On this friday, since it’s the first home game the seniors are wearing togas. It has been a tradition for a while and they call it “toga day”. While walking through the halls of Hinsdale Central, I see a lot of white bed sheets wrapped around people. My eyes are moving rapidly while I’m staring at everyone's togas. I noticed some that were inappropriate. The inappropriate ones were the ones that the guys were wearing. Their togas were falling down and you could see most of their stomachs. I didn’t hear or see any guys get dressed coded. If a girls toga was falling off or you could see too much, they would be in the principal's office in a second. Boys get away with so much. Our high school has “dress codes” but they mostly only apply to the girls because the guys never get dress coded. If you have a dress code you can’t just apply it to girls you have to apply to it the guys as well.
Dress codes are unfair because only girls get dress coded. On the website Orange County Register the article “Do Dress Codes Unfairly Target Girls”, by Greg Hardesty states, “However, it does not excuse high schools from being harder on them than males. If one gender has to follow strict guidelines, the other should follow them as well. It’s only fair.” It’s only fair to dress code both guys and girls. Some guys wear inappropriate clothes just like girls. At Hinsdale Central’s prep rally, a couple of guys came out in tight, short shorts and a tank top. The outfit was definitely not appropriate for school, but they didn't get in trouble. I was talking to people and some of them felt uncomfortable because they were disgusted by their outfits. It’s ironic because if a girl came out in shorts that were too short and a tank top they would get in a lot of trouble.
Girls get dress coded more than guys because guys get distracted easily. On the website We News in the article “Students Say Dress Codes more for Girls Than Boys”, by Anna Halkidis says, “Obviously you don’t want people showing up to school in bikinis or anything,” she said. “But I think there are some things that could just be a little more relaxed about them. Like you can’t have shirts that show your shoulders, really? My shoulders are seductive?” If we can’t wear tank tops I don't get why boys can. I think it's worse for boys to wear tank tops because some boys have big arms and that can be distracting to girls. On the website Blue Nation Review in the article “Sexist Dress Codes In Schools are the Real Distraction” it states, “It’s that the current dress codes are designed to be sexist-overwhelmingly targeting females. And by justifying particular dress codes as keeping classrooms free from ‘distractions’.” Teachers dress code girls because they think it will help from distractions but they don’t. It’s ironic because teachers think only males get distracted by girls, but girls can easily be distracted by the males in the classroom too. Guys need to dress appropriate like the girls because it’s only fair.
Dress coding is sexist. In the Huffington Post the article “Every Reason Your School’s Gendered Dress Code Is Probably a Sexist Mess” by Soraya Chemaly says, “The males and females are not held to the same standards of dress. In a recent incident, 200 high school students got detention for violating a strict new policy. Ninety percent of them were girls.” Dress codes are not fair. Some guys don’t follow the dress codes and they get away with it all the time. Dress codes are hypercritical. Dress codes are a big part of the schools but its weird how only girls get dress coded. They let guys show their stomachs and they allow them to wear short shorts. But girls can’t wear shorts or tank tops because wearing that shows too much. If schools have dress codes they need to apply to both guys and girls. Guys get away with so much compared to girls.

Media Message

One Tree Hill

The TV show I watched was One Tree Hill. I watched season 1 episode 12. Episode 12 is named “Crash Course in Polite Conversation”. The episode was played on February 3, 2004. It was created by Mark Schlwahn. The main actors of One Tree Hill are Chad Michael Murray who plays Lucas Scott, Sophia Bush who plays Brooke Davis, Bethany Joy Lenz who plays Haley James, James Lafferty who plays Nathan Scott, Hilarie Burton who plays Peyton Sawyer, Paul Johansson who plays Dan Scott, and a lot more. 

 The purpose of this show is to entertain people. The TV show is an american drama series.

The message of this episode was that lying hurts relationships. In this episode everyone was lying and it was making things worse. One example is Dan Scott lied to his father about his son. His son Nathan Scott quit the basketball team and they were keeping it a secret from Dan’s father. Finally the father figured it out and he was upset. He left the house and he didn’t even say bye to Dan, he just looked at him in disgust. Dan and his father relationship was bad after that. Another example is when Dan lied about getting injured in college. His mom said, “I protected you, I lied for you. In college his knee injury wasn’t permeant. Danny quit and I helped him.” Everyone finally found out when his mom told everyone at dinner. Everyone was upset about it. Nathan wasn’t pleased about it and now he doesn’t look at him the same. Nathan and Dan don’t have a good relationship because Dan lied to him many times. The main message was lying hurts relationships. 
 In the One Tree Hill episode there wasn’t any Political commentary, but they had some social/cultural commentary in the episode. One that was in it was leadership and who we look up to. Nathan used to look up to his dad until he found out he lied about basketball, but now he looks up to his mom more because she is always there for him and she is a good role model to him. Nathan told his dad he was disappointed in him and he doesn’t consider him as a leader anymore plus he doesn’t look up to him. Also nerds and “cool” people played a role in the episode. Nathan is considered a cool person and Haley his girlfriend was a nerd at first because they portrayed her as being really smart because she tutors people. Brooke and Peyton were mean to Haley at first because she was a “nerd”. Brooke called her tutor girl instead of Haley for a long time. 

There wasn’t really any consumerism in the episode. Money was a major factor though. You could tell most of them had money. Nathan lives in a big house and he has a huge beach house that is close to his real home. Haley doesn’t have a lot of money because she works at a cafe everyday. Lucas doesn’t really have money either because he lives in a small house and his mom runs the cafe. He didn’t have a cell phone at first. Lucas and Haley are best friends and Nathan, Brooke, and Peyton were all friends at first. Money did separate them at first but not anymore. You can tell in the episode who has money and who doesn’t but its not a major part of the show. You can tell by what they have like cell phones, cars, and how they dress. 

In the show theres a lot of drama between everyone. There are a lot of hypocrisies and a lot of ironies in the episode. One was Dan with Nathan. Dan pushes Nathan in basketball and Nathan is under so much pressure because of Dan. Nathan took drugs to beat Dan in basketball because he was was smack talking him. We found out in this episode that Dan’s father put him under a lot of pressure and he didn’t like it at all. During the episode Dan says to his wife, “I’m trying to protect our son from my father” but his wife says, “You don’t even see the irony do you?” Nathan is getting more hurt from Dan. Dan is doing something he didn’t like to his own son. Also another example is Nathan decided to quit basketball. His father Dan was upset and told him that he was a quitter. We found out later that Dan wasn’t really injured and that he quit basketball in college. Dan was wondering why Nathan quit but he did the same thing. This ruined there relationship. Another example is when Lucas was dating Brooke and he kissed her best friend Peyton. Peyton and Lucas were talking and he said to Peyton, “Thats what friends are for”. They were just friends but then they kissed and they started to have feelings for each other. They didn’t tell Brooke and she finally found out and was upset with both of them. This messed up both relationships. Brooke and Lucas broke up and Peyton and her weren’t friends for a while. There’s a lot of drama in One Tree Hill. There are a lot of hypocrisies and ironies in the show. The show wants viewers to think that lying hurts relationships but when one looks closer, its ironic that they all stay friends at the end of the episode. 

Research Paper

I jumped on the bus with my cozy pajamas on and I was ready for the miserable 14 hour bus ride. I was going to Colorado for the Young Life Camp. I already went on two Wyldlife trips before but this was my first trip with Young Life. I had a stomach ache because I knew this trip was going to be different as some of my close friends weren’t going on it. They went on the Wyldlife trips, so I was anxious to find out my cabin, but also I was excited to see. The bus was swaying back forth as we were going up the mountains. I was getting nervous. My hands started to sweat as we were getting close to the edge of the mountain. Finally we arrived and they started naming off the cabin list right away. While everyone was moving to find their belongings I heard my name. I kept listening and I heard a couple of my friends names and then I heard random names. I knew from the start that this trip was going to be different. Right away we had an activity to do. We were always busy with activities. Some of my favorite activities were swimming in the pool, repelling from a small mountain, horseback riding, and climbing an enormous mountain. The days felt so long but the week flew by. I went into camp wanting to leave but then when camp was ending I wanted to stay. I never wanted to do Young Life when I was younger because my siblings never did it and they told me bad things about it. I decided to do it because all of my friends were going, so I decided to go. It changed my life forever. I made special bonds with people and God. Young Life is a beneficial organization that allows people to come together through God and find enjoyment through God.

Young life is an organization that helps kids grow in their faith. Young life was started by Jim Rayburn and he started it in 1939 in Texas. It all started with a weekly club. At this club there would be some singing, a couple of skits, and a simple message about Jesus Christ. Young Life was getting more popular and started spreading through more states.

Youth groups would be good for teenagers because teenage years is hard for teenagers. Many teenagers have a lot of problems in their lives and youth groups can help with that. Teenagers are very busy with school work, clubs, sports, family, and friends. In the article “Survey Reveals Significant Student Stress” there is a pie graph that shows if kids have extreme stress, high stress, moderate stress, limited stress, or no stress. The top two highest percentages were moderate stress with 42 percent and high stress with 29 percent. Kids are stressed in high school because they have so much going on. They are expected to get good grades while being active and having a social life. Teenagers shouldn’t be this stress. Being in a youth group could help relieve stress for teenagers. Young Life is a place where kids let loose and have a good time. This would be good for kids because stress can lead to things like depression. In the article “Teen Depression Statistics” the author states, “About 20 percent of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood.” Depression is common among teenagers. Depression is serious and if people have depression they need to talk to someone. Some people don’t have friends so they can’t talk to there friends but youth groups are a great way of sharing how you feel. Youth groups are very helpful because teenagers can share their problems in a safe environment. Teenagers have a lot of problems with family, friends, and grades. Youth groups would help teenagers tremendously.

There are a lot of benefits to youth groups. Youth groups are great because you meet new people and you learn about god. Young Life is a great youth group that brings new people together. In the Relationships Magazine Stacey Windal interviewed Patrick Lundberg and he says, “I don’t know where I would be without Pat and my Wyldlife leader before him.” You meet people you thought you would never meet. The connections you create with your leaders and other people will last forever. On the website Community Toolbox the article ‘Establishing Youth Organization” the author says, “Young people involved in organizations can receive information on staying safe and healthy from their peers or adults they know and respect.” Youth groups are a great way to find people that will make a positive influence in your life. They will always be there for you no matter what. People bond over God. At camp you spend everyday talking about God. On the Young Life website there was an article, “God Saved me Twice” written by Ned Erickson, he says “The best part was on Saturday night. Dave gave us 15 minutes to be alone and think about God’s live. As I prayed, I remember the miracle that God performed before I was born. It made me think of what Jesus did for me 2,000 years ago. God had saved me twice!” In Young Life you learn so much about god. Most people go to Young Life for the social aspect but a lot of people go to learn about God. At camp you learn about God in an exciting way. All the speakers are different but they all explain it good because the message is easy to understand.

Another benefit about Young Life is it's a place where you can be yourself. Young Life is a judge free zone. On the website Community Toolbox the article “Establishing Youth Organization” says, “Young People can bring a tremendous amount of life to an organization; often, their energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and perspective are invaluable to members of larger community initiatives that chose to actively involve them.” During Young Life people go insane. Everybody is singing and dancing. Everybody has energy even if they’re tired because Young Life is always fun. I lose my voice every time I go to camp. Camp is unique because know one cares what they look like. During camp girls wears nike shorts, a baggy tshirt, their hair up, and most girls don’t wear makeup. Guys just wear the same things as they normally do. People rarely shower because there’s always something to do. Girls usually care about what they look like so it’s nice to go to camp and not care. People can look awful but still have the time of their life. Young Life is a place where you can be yourself without being judged.

Some people don’t believe in Young Life. A lot of people talk bad about Young Life but a lot of them haven’t been to Young Life. A person that I know posted on twitter saying Young Life is dumb. This person has never been too Young Life and he doesn’t know anything about it. He decided to go a an “all nighter” that Young Life holds. During the all nighter we did exciting activities like we went to navy pier to watch a movie, we played sports in a indoor place, we went to extreme trampoline, and we went ice skating. In between all these activities we had “club”. Club is where you sing music, then a skit is performed, and then we had a message about God. After the all nighter was done he said he actually enjoyed it. He only had positive comments about Young Life. He knew nothing about Young Life at first because he wasn’t involved with it. You have to experience young life or youth groups to know what it's all about.

Young Life and youth groups are great for teenagers. There are so many benefits with youth groups. The teenage years is a hard time for many teenagers and a lot of teenagers would benefit from a youth group. Youth groups are a great way to meet new people while being yourself. Youth groups can help teenagers become more social because they are making connections with people. You learn so much about yourself and God with a youth group. Young Life has impacted my life so much. If I didn’t start it in 7th grade my life would be different. I still talk to my leaders every once in awhile. I talk to the girls that were in my cabin and some of them are my close friends now. God has played a major role in my life throughout this whole journey. I have found myself through this journey. This experience was incredible and I loved it so much that I decided to become a Wyldlife leader. I now lead a group of crazy 8th graders. I am so happy I can lead them and help them along this journey. My life is changed for the better all because I did Young Life.