Reality Television

I have to admit I do have a guilty pleasure when it comes to reality television shows. My list of shows is Hoarders, Dance Mom’s and Sister Wives. There are a few others I watch, but these are the only ones that I watch constantly. I would not say that I am completely hooked on them, but I do enjoy them and look forward to the new episodes. My husband on the other hand, is not a huge fan and avoids watching them with me at all costs. I get the occasional “are we really going to watch this crap again,” or lately his remarks have turned into an annoyed grunt. Of course, that doesn’t stop me from recording them on my DVR and watching them myself.

            I have not given very much thought on whether or not I think reality television is harmful or beneficial to our society up until this point. My overly, opinionated husband, on the other hand, would say that it is the downfall of American society. I think that they can be harmful. Some reality shows may be too uncensored or portray a damaging example, especially to our youth. I defiantly think that as parents we should monitor the type of reality shows our children watch.

For instance, my daughters watch a show called Craft Wars and in my opinion this show is good for them. The show doesn’t have any adult situations and gives them ideas on how to be creative themselves. They also use teamwork and set standards that must be met. The show is structured under a time limit, materials list, and final intent. The contestants are then allowed to design their crafts within these measures. The final result is that the best product moves forward and the worst is given restrictions on the next craft or has to leave the show.

Dance Moms on the other hand is very entertaining but conveys bad behaviors and attitudes that I hope my daughters would never adopt. The mothers in the show have no life other than that of their daughters. They expect their daughters to be the best dancers in the studio and nothing else in life matters. One episode, a mother began throwing a fit as if she were a two year old that was told no for the first time. This was all because her daughter was not allowed to dance at a completion. The daughter then was caught in a screaming match between the owner and the mother. The owner, Abby Lee, uses the daughter as leverage and speaks to her in the middle of the argument, as if she could really form an opinion with her overbearing mother and Abby Lee both needing to be right. This is a show I allow my daughters to watch, but after writing this I may be rethinking it.

Sister Wives is the last show I watch that I do not allow my girls to watch with us. Sister Wives has a lot of adult situations and I do not think it is necessary for them to be exposed to its ideas. I do think there are several reality shows that can be harmful and lead people to think certain activities are ok. But I do think those shows should be watched based on our own moral judgment.

            I know several people who are fed up with all the reality shows. I do think that they are entertaining but should only be viewed by an audience that is mature enough for their content.

Fast Food

When I was growing up fast food was pretty much unheard of. I lived in a very small that consisted of one small grocery store and a single Mexican food restaurant. The Mexican food restaurant was a big treat for my family. We didn’t have very much money so eating out didn’t happen very often. I can remember when McDonalds was built in a town about an hour from my home. My grandmother lived about two blocks from the new exciting place. One Saturday my sister and I went to spend the afternoon with her and we begged and begged to go there for lunch. We had heard how amazing it was from all of our friends. Not only did they have cheeseburgers, but also their meals came with a toy. Another awesome perk was they had a play ground! After a lot of begging my grandmother finally gave in and took us. I can remember it like it was yesterday. I got the cheeseburger happy meal and my sister got the chicken nugget happy meal. The meals came with a Winnie the Pooh toy. We were so excited to finally have the chance to eat at this place we had heard so much about. Unfortunately the excitement was short lived. The food was unlike anything I had ever tasted and to be honest I hated it. It was a huge disappointment, and as hard as I tried I wasn’t able to finish my meal. As much as I was disappointed in the food it didn’t stop me from running wild and having a blast on the playground. I don’t think I ate fast food again for the next five years or so when they put in a Jack in the Box in that same town an hour away. Jack in the Box was a different story, the food was amazing! I was instantly hooked on their three-piece egg rolls. Jack in the Box became a huge treat for my family and I. We would go to Jack in the Box once every few weeks when we went into town to do our bulk shopping. Once I got married and moved away from home, fast food became a bigger part of my life. For most of my early 20’s fast food was on the menu at least four to five times a week. During that time I gained weight that I chalked up to coming with age and I had no energy, which I figured, came from having two small children. I had no idea of the damage I was doing to my body.

            Over the past several years I have became very invested in my health and the health of my family. It’s almost like one day a light came on and I started realizing that my eating habits weren’t benefiting me in any way. I slowly stared paying attention to the things I put in my mouth. I recently read a book called, “Eat This And Live” in the book it talks about how awful fast food is for you. The book really opened my eyes and I haven’t eaten fast food in over a year. The thought of eating fast food at this point literally makes me nauseous. I can’t say, “I will never eat it again” but I can say, “I hope I never do.”

Past, Present and Future

I grew up in a very small town in the mountains of Arizona. The town’s population was approximately 3,000 people and hasn’t risen very much since I was a child. I had what I would consider a typical upbringing. I had a hard working father, a stay at home mother and two older siblings. Growing up college was never pushed on me; in fact it was something that was pretty much considered not an option. At the time all I wanted out of life was to be a wife and mother. And that is exactly what I did; I graduated high school early and got married at 17. I had my first of two daughters a month before my 19^th birthday. After I had her I began to realize that maybe being a wife and mother wasn’t going to be enough for me. It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy or that there is anything wrong with being a stay at home mom. I just wanted more for my family and myself. I started looking into doing some sort of a trade school and came across a Dental Assisting school that was cheap and fast. I completed the school a year before I had my second daughter and began working as an assistant. I worked off and on for several years and really enjoyed what I did. As time passed I started finding things out about myself that I never knew were there. I started setting goals and started marking things off my bucket list.

I began working for a dentist in Malibu, CA about six months ago and loved it, but again I felt like I wanted more out of life. That is how I ended up here in college pursuing my degree in Dental Hygiene. My daughters will start school on September 5^th and I will be able to go to school while they are also at school. This works out great because when I work full time I miss so much with them. My spare time is spent doing activities with my family. We have so much fun together, I am truly blessed. If I’m not spending time with my family, I’m running. Running is my passion. I completed my first marathon in January 2012 and will be running another one in February 2013.

 The thought of where I’ll be five years from now is so exciting to me. I hope to have became a Dental Hygienist and working in a fun office. I also hope to have set a good example for my daughters and they believe anything is possible for them in life. I have moved around so much over the past twelve years and loved so many different places, I’m not quiet sure where I want to end up. Hawaii would be nice, but who wouldn’t want to live there forever. I would like the chance to make a difference in the lives of the people around me. I hope to meet a lot of new exciting people and look forward to what ever else my future holds for me.