Here is a recent commentary of mine that I wrote in
TheRecorder. Just remember a few things during your reading. I am not trying to sound angry or bitter here. I have just realized that life is too short and people need to live free, have fun, and just enjoy life.


Pettiness, A True American Disease
by Sarah Peltier

Up until recently, I have always focused most of my attention on school, work, and keeping up my good grades. I normally freak out if I get a grade below a B+ and spend many hours, including weekends, to study and focus on schoolwork. Going out and having a good time usually comes last in my life. This was my life in a nutshell prior to the beginning of September, when every single American life was altered.

It is not a breaking story anymore that people of all races, religions, and backgrounds were affected by the terrorists' attacks. I did not know anyone personally who died in the attacks, but I realized something of great importance. Life is way too short. Living my life the way I was, focusing so much of my time and energy on perfecting everything that I did, I forgot to live and have fun. I lost track of the things in life that I should have been placing at the top of my priority list: family, friends, fun, and just enjoying life in general.

Over the past few weeks, I have had many encounters of people who are just so bitter all of the time. People get so worked up and angry over the slightest things. For instance, at my workplace, there are about ten females and one male. This means big trouble because ten females working together in such a small place can almost guarantee that a lot of times gossip overtakes normal conversation, emotions run wild, and mood swings are a common occurrence. So, when I heard one of my female coworkers complain the other day non-stop of how she did not feel well and had such a headache, I found myself getting very agitated. I wanted to tell her that she should be thankful that she is not one of the many people who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks. Her headache, which was mentioned to everyone in the building that day, probably would not have seemed so bad if she could have just thought for a moment about how her pain is not much compared to what thousands of people are going through right now.

Just this past weekend, as I was returning home from a journalism conference in New Orleans with my fellow editors at The Recorder, there was an obnoxious drunken man on the plane who was giving the flight attendant a hard time. The man refused to put away his shopping bags while the plane was descending and yelled and shouted obscenities at the flight attendant. He was so worked up and angry because of the smallest thing- putting his carry on bags away. Granted the fact that he was drunk, I kept thinking to myself how much of a complete loser this guy was. He disrupted the plane with his screaming and thankfully, by the time we all reached baggage claim, police and the National Guard were awaiting his arrival.

These may seem like extreme examples but these are the kinds of things that made me realize how petty some things are that upset a lot of people. I sometimes find myself complaining, getting angry at minute things, and occasionally, I am in a horrible mood. These are the things I want to change now. I have realized that there is so much pain in suffering going on in the world right now. There is no room for me to complain about my bad hair days, or my thighs, which I groan about being too big.

I am by no means saying that school is not important to me anymore or that I am going to party all the time and not do any schoolwork. I may still even freak out if I get a grade below a B+. But I have realized that I need also to go out and enjoy myself more often. I want to maintain great grades, but at the same time, I want to live and have fun. Life is too short to complain and get irritated with the small things. It is sad that it has taken such a tragedy for me to realize this, but I now see life in a new way. So go out and party a little, ask the hot guy/girl that sits next to you in class out on a date. Live life to it's fullest. Make mistakes and learn from them. So the next time you or someone you know complains about trivial things, remember that most people are very lucky with their lives and although things don't always go the way that they are planned, things could always be much worse.

In a recent issue of TheRecorder, I wrote a commentary piece on the new internet fad of pro anorexia websites. I have recently noticed that many of the web sites have been taken down and thought that it would be interesting for my classmates and others who do not read The Recorder to read this story. It is pretty much a revised copy of my commentary from The Recorder issue, but I added links.

I AM NOT ENDORSING THESE WEB SITES OR ANY BELIEFS THEY MAY CONTAIN IN ANY WAY. PLEASE BEWARE THAT MANY THOUGHTS AND IMAGES ARE VERY, VERY, GRAPHIC AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL.

“If you aren’t thin, you aren’t attractive. Thou shall not eat fattening food without punishing oneself afterwards. Being thin and not eating are signs of true will power and success.” To many people, these few sentences may seem like a bunch of nonsense or mumbo jumbo that does not apply to them. But to the millions of people who suffer from anorexia nervosa, these are the words in which they live by. In fact, these lines are three out of the ten pro anorexia commandments

These commandments, along with many other disturbing thoughts and images, are plastered on web sites across the Internet. With the click of a mouse, one can find anything from tips on hiding weight loss, lessons on making purging easier, or countless photos of young girls suffering from the disorder and who look like skeletons. As I sat back and thought about how one could build a web site that promotes anorexia, I realized that these certain individuals are really crying out for help.

In a study conducted by the International Eating Disorder Referral Organization, 81% of ten-year olds admitted that they are afraid of being fat. In the same study, 51% of the nine and ten-year olds observed said that they feel better about themselves if they are on a diet. That’s right, nine and ten-year olds diet nowadays. If there is any doubt in your mind that this study may not be truly representative of the nation as a whole, take into consideration the fact that approximately ten million women and one million men have eating disorders in the United States, ranging from anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating. The National Eating Disorders Screening Program also reports that about 1, 000 women die a year from anorexia.

These facts are frightening enough and to know that there are hundreds of web sites praising anorexia is horrifying. To the anorexia victims, these web sites are not far fetched by any means. They are an accurate description of what goes on in the mind of an anorexic. Most of the web sites are filled with ultra thin models and pictures of anorexic people, all of which the pro anorexia people see as being attractive. These web sites offer advice to fellow anorexia sufferers on how to not give up on the quest to be “thin enough.” Many sites give information and ideas on how to become a “better anorexic” such as how to hide eating disorders from family, friends, and doctors and how to make purging after meals a little more pleasant.

So why are these web sites allowed to be on the Internet? This question comes along with a lot of controversy. There is the main issue of censorship. Does anyone really have the right to take away someone’s freedom to express his or her opinions or feelings, even if it’s on the Internet? I believe that the companies that sponsor these web sites should reconsider and shutdown the sites. Many groups such as the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated DisordersNational Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, or ANAD are trying and succeeding in some cases, to get these sites removed.

Thousands of people who secretly suffer from eating disorders view these sites daily. How would you feel if one of your loved ones or friends was searching these sites constantly to find out how long he/she has to exercise a night because they ate one whole meal and didn’t purge. Or maybe your sister is searching the web to find out how to camouflage the noises she makes while she makes herself vomit repeatedly as you sit in the next room.

Promoting these sites and allowing thousands of people to look at them does not help the anorexic sufferer. Bans should be put on these sites and the government and other officials should get involved in the fight against this pro-anorexia movement. Most anorexic people don’t just wake up one day and say, “Hey, I think I will start having an eating disorder today.” It happens gradually as eating, or lack there of, becomes an obsession. And it is these web sites that only add fuel to the fire instead of helping put it out.

Rude People Make Me Angry

The other day as I was trying to run a customer's credit card through the machine at my workplace, he stood there chewing candy that we have out for customers loudly, open-mouthed, and obnoxiously as I stood there wanting to rip the candy away from him and ask him where his manners were. Finally, after about 10 minutes of his card not working and 15 candies later, I had just about enough. I decided that if I was not going to attack him and tell him to shut up, I better do something else. I almost offered to pay his bill out of my own pocket just to get him to leave because I could not stand the noises he was making. Finally, the card worked and he left.

This is not the only encounter of rudeness I have had recently. On the campus of CCSU, people are extremely rude. Since when do three people have to walk exactly side by side and take up the entire sidewalk, not allowing anyone to pass? The person trying to pass either can break through the chain of people or can walk around them, which usually means walking in mud or on the grass.

And these kinds of manners are not the only kind that people are lacking. General respect and etiquette has disappeared in a large part of the American Culture. People dress disrespectfully all the time at important functions, such as weddings, funerals, and meeting etc. Don’t get me wrong. I like to show off my body once in a while, but I do it accordingly. People need to remember that rudeness and lack of manners is not cool at all, but is rather obnoxious and shows that they have little respect for themselves and others.

ProperEtiquetteFromGirlsWhoKnow

Alright, Alright. I know you are all probably sick and tired of hearing about Afghanistan’s and bin Laden. But I feel that I must write one more thing on the subject. I have sat at my house the past few weeks watching the news, reading the papers, and doing all of the internet searches that I possibly could do on the terrorists to try to find out what their frame of minds must have been during these horrendous attacks. I have really tried to put myself in their situation and it absolutely blows my mind to even fathom doing something like that. So, in order to try to get into the minds of one of these horrible people, I attempted to learn more about the Afghanistan’s and their way of life.

Please don't get me wrong. I am in no way, shape, or form trying to defend the Afghanistan terrorists or the people responsible for the attacks on America. I am just trying to figure out how people can do such horrible things. What I discovered in my research and from multiple news reports shocked me. The Afghanistan people come from one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world. They live in such horrible conditions and have a very high poverty rate. The women have absolutely no rights and are not allowed to work or go to school. The average life expectancy for Afghanistan’s is about 47. Only 15% of women and 47.5% of men over the age of 15 can read. AfghanistanPeople What I realized, is that many young people in Afghanistan really do not have anything to look forward to in their future. Someone like bin Laden can be a very influential person in the life of a 10-year-old, for example, who has no food, money, or future. Bin Laden glorifies war and fighting and makes it look appealing to these children who really have no positive influences in their lives.

So again, I am not trying to make excuses for the terrorists or their actions. But maybe, just maybe, they really didn't give a damn about what they were doing because they honestly had nothing else to look forward to in life. Maybe they didn't have a lot of money and saw psycho bin Laden as a way out. After all, he is loaded with money and the terrorists and their families probably got paid well for their attacks on our country. How sad is it that people would do something so horrible for this mastermind bin Laden? I think it is horrible but many of these people really do not care because they have nothing else to live for.


AfghanistanPhotos

Since it is Monday, my least favorite day of the week, I don't think I am going to write a commentary today. It may turn out to be a little too harsh. So instead, I have decided to give my readers a little taste of what I am about and what I like to write about. TheRecorder