Hw#37-Cool Paper Final Draft

Cool? Where did it come from? that's what i ask myself all the time. Nowadays there are some many different versions of cool, it so hard to keep up with. Its a constant ongoing battle within ourselves and with each other. Everywhere you go you witness it. Its what we live off of. We seems to try and make this idea of "cool" but what is it really? Especially kids my age they are willing to change everything about them (appearance, lifestyle, etc). Is it really worth all this trouble? Some may think so. I feel like we push ourselves to be this "cool" person but what happens when its over. There nothing much there but just pure emptiness.

When it comes cool, there's no way in stopping it, its like an epidemic. Lots of kids these days when they think of the word "cool", they think of name brand things and being popular or some sort. It relates back to that Merchants of Cool video when they talked about the little girls becoming like Britney Spears or MTV hiring kids to look good in a video to make other kids want to be like them. Referring back to the Britney Spears thing it said to "flaunt your sexuality even though you do not know what it is" just because that is told to be "cool". I agree with what Stephanie said "But what does it fill? Nothing we are once again giving into a fake society just to fit in and be "cool" If we maybe branched off and did our own thing maybe our emptiness would be filled a lot quicker and easier" we all play these characters in our society being fake and then we don't even know who the "true you" is.

When it comes to appearance piercings, tattoos, hair, etc all determine if you are "cool" or not. When Mr. Fanning came in and talked about his tattoos he mentioned that his tattoos was his armor and that he felt like a rebel kind of showing his side of "cool". Part of the tattoo thing is where you get it if your a guy your "suppose" to get it on your arm signifying masculinity or if your a female you get it representing femininity. I think that refers to the cool factor and that when it comes to cool there are rules and different ways to go about it. Its kind of like a game. The same thing goes for piercings. No only does it matter where you get your tattoos its sort of like what your background is such as ghetto or if your white, black, or Hispanic. It all varies. We pierce our bodies to show how "cool" we are but when in reality is kind of showing how fake we are being. So who the hell our we really?

It seems as if we look at ourselves we are empty and just use things to distract us in life to full up this emptiness. There's nothing really there. "Sometimes we feel an inner sense of emptiness. When we look within, it seems like nothing is there, so we distract ourselves with something on the outside, like food or television; and yet, these outer distractions only temporarily take care of the emptiness, or more accurately, they only temporarily keep our attention. When the distraction is over, the emptiness returns." I agree with this we live our lives with all this crap such as technology, pleasing people, and other objects around us to fill up this emptiness we have but we do not even know what is. Its like an unsolved mystery. Its impossible to find the emptiness, we cover it with being "cool".

Constantly trying to be this and that. With the concept "cool" everybody trying to gather things to be this image of cool. Once you get one thing you have to another thing. " If meaning is what we desire, then meaninglessness is a hole, an emptiness, in our lives. whenever you have a vacuum, of course, things rush to fill it." I agree with Viktor Frankl because we have these emptiness in us and then fill it up with all this junk and superficial stuff that is on television and society around us. Its like without all of this bullshit our lives are meaningless. There no actual satisfaction on life. One of the reason we might feel this emptiness because we always have something covering it up. Its like a bandage, we get a cut use a bandage to cover it up and heal but it still there. Everybody wants to be accepted and become this other person to be "cool" so is that emptiness?

"Cool" not only to cover up our emptiness, we live cultural maps revolving this. If you live in a wealthy neighborhood then you have expensive clothes and a hot shot car they are "cool". On the other hand, if your in the ghetto living in the projects you have you pants "saggin", you don't go to school and chill all day that is "cool". It shows the cultural maps we follow within our community and what is already set for us in our families. Every kind of race has their own cultural map and how to about it. The poem by Gwendolyn Brooks reminded me of the cultural maps because those kids in the poem are following what all the other kids are in their neighborhood are doing. We are all slave in our cultural maps. That's if you have a bodega in every corner around you live, it's obvious that where everybody goes just like Andy said about the chicken spots and people always there. Is it our fault though?

People are so used to their cultural maps why would they want to change it? Not every cultural maps can fit into other ones. For example, if you are minority and want to change your lifestyle by going to school and doing what you have to, to go to college. It might fit with those other people like you but not where you live cause then people going to make fun of you "your a loser or your white". Why is that the minority get stuck with the fucked up cultural maps? If your Caucasian you live the "good life" and if your Hispanic or black you "struggle" most of the time that what it is or what people think. Is it possible to change that? Personally, when it comes to my cultural map it is to get an good education and attend college. I think its like that for a lot of kids because their parents did not attend college so they want to make these cultural maps better and better each time with their children.

Cool can be shaped into any form we want to and mean whatever but it what it does to us that makes this whole thing so complicated. It's one of those that are unexplainable. No matter what anybody says about it we live off of it and perform in these roles to be "cool". Its an ongoing cycle. Its physically with piercings and tattoos and then mentally with our "emptiness which we do not even what the hell it is. Then we have the cultural maps that we present ourselves with to be "cool" or try to change out of them to be better.

Sources
http://www.endless-satsang.com/emptiness.htm
Merchant of Cool
We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks

Hw#36-Triangle Partners Help

Steph

What is cool? There are so many different definitions its hard to be cool. Depending on your social map and the way your raised you cool is different from someone raised with a different sense of cool. Cool varies, depending where you come from and how you approach things. Its branches off into some many things to physical appearances and what we think mentally. Teenagers these days do whatever it takes to be in the "cool" crowd at the same time be "who they are".

I believe the route of "cool" has become more and more competive. At the same time it starting at younger ages. Young teens nowadays are getting piercings like crazy trying to be "cool" but not looking long terms same thing goes for tattoos. Kids are just trying to fit in, its going to an extreme at the same time its like whatever. Like you said they are under pressure and do it just to fit in do they know when to stop though? Cool is corrupting young people these days.

Tips:
Spelling and grammar
Make sure everything flows together
Quotes?

Overall your rough draft was good my steffy weffy lol. =) Good Job!

Matt

In society today young teens are surrounded by trying to be "cool" and being someone their not.

If you do not have the latest fashion they you are not considered cool. Even if you do not know what it is as long as you have it, you have that upperhand. Its like that video we saw "Merchants of Cool" and the girls are told to flaunt their sexuality even though they do not what is. This goes with the fashion statement. In order to be the part you have to act the part which is "cool".

Tips:

Spelling and Grammar

Make sure to have a conclusion to sum everything up

Nice Job on your paper. Its a great start! =)

Rough Draft

Cool? Where did it come from? thats what i ask myself all the time. Nowadays there are some many different verisons of cool, it so hard to keep up with. Its a constant ongoing battle within ourselves and with each other. The idea of cool varies in many different ways. Everywhere you go you witness it. Its what we live off of. We seems to try and make this idea of "cool" but what is it really? Especially kids my age they are willing to change everything about them (appearance, lifestyle, etc). Is it really worth all this trouble? Some may think so. I feel like we push ourselves to be this "cool" person but what happens when its over. There nothing much there but just pure emptiness.

When it comes cool, theres no way in stopping it, its like an epidemic. Lots of kids these days when they think of the word "cool", they think of name brand things and being popular or some sort. It relates back to that Merchants of Cool video when they talked about the little girls becoming like Britney Spears or MTV hiring kids to look good in a video to make other kids want to be like them. Referring back to the Britney Spears thing it said to flaunt their sexuality even though they do not know what it is just because that is told to be "cool".

When it comes to appearance piercings, tattoos, hair,etc all determine if you are "cool" or not. When Mr. Fanning came in and talked about his tattoos he mentioned that his tattoos was his armor and that he felt like a rebel kind of showing his side of "cool". Part of the tattoo thing is where you get it if your a guy your "suppose" to get it on your arm signifying masculiny or if your a female you get it representing feminity. I think that refers to the cool factor and that when it comes to cool there are rules and different ways to go about it. Its kind of like a game. The same thing goes for piercings. No only does it matter where you get your tattoos its sort of like what your background is such as ghetto or if your white, black, or hispanic. It all varies. We pierce our bodies to show how "cool" we are but when in reality is kind of showing how fake we are being. So who the hell our we really?

It seems as if we look at ourselves we are empty and just use things to distract us in life to full up this emptiness. There's nothing really there. "Sometimes we feel an inner sense of emptiness. When we look within, it seems like nothing is there, so we distract ourselves with something on the outside, like food or television; and yet, these outer distractions only temporarily take care of the emptiness, or more accurately, they only temporarily keep our attention. When the distraction is over, the emptiness returns." I agree with this we live our lives with all this crap such as technology, pleasing people, and other objects around us to fill up this emptiness we have but we do not even know what is. Its like an unsolved mystery. Its impossible to find the emptiness, we cover it with being "cool". Constanly trying to be this and that. With the concept "cool" everybody trying to gather things to be this image of cool. Once you get one thing you have to another thing. One of the reason we might feel this emptiness because we always have something covering it up. Its like a bandage, we get a cut use a bandage to cover it up and heal but it still there. Everybody wants to be accepted and become this other person to be "cool" so is that emptiness?

"Cool" not only to cover up our emptiness, we live cultural maps revolving this. If you live in a wealthy neighborhood then you have exxpensive clothes and a hot shot car they are "cool". On the other hand, if your in the ghetto living in the projects you have you pants "saggin", you don't go to school and chill all day that is "cool". It shows the cultural maps we follow within our communtiy and what is already set for us in our families. Every kind of race has their own cultural map and how to about it. The poem by Gwendolyn Brooks reminded me of the cultural maps because those kids in the poem are following what all the other kids are in their neighborhood are doing. We are all slave in our cultural maps. Thats if you have a bodega in every corner around you live, it's obvious that where everybody goes just like Andy said about the chicken spots and people always there. Is it our fault though? People are so used to their cultural maps why would they want to change it? Not every cultural maps can fit into other ones. For example, if you are minority and you want to change your lifestyle by going to school and doing what you have to, to go to college. It might fit with those other people like you but not where you live cause then people going to make fun of you "your a loser or your white". Why is that the minority get stuck with the fucked up cultural maps? If your causcian you live the "good life" and if your hispanic or black you "struggle" most of the time that what it is or what people think. Is it possible to change that? Personally, when it comes to my cultural map its get an good education and attend college. I think its like that for a lot of kids because their parents did not attend college so they want to make these cultural maps better and better each time with their children.

Cool can be shaped into any form we want to and mean whatever but it what it does to us that makes this whole thing so complicated. It's one of those that are unexplainable. No matter waht anybody says about it we live off of it and perform in these roles to be "cool". Its an ongoing cycle. Its physically with piercings and tattoos anf then mentally with our "emptiness which we do not even what the hell it is. Then we have the cultural maps that we present ourselves with to be "cool" or try to change out of them to be better.

Hw 34-The Cool Pose and Various Approaches..

When it comes to the word "cool" depending where you grow up it means something different especially with race and gender. When it comes to whole trying to be gangster and trying to be "white" i feel like those roles switch between different races. For instance, a white person will try to act all "tough-like and sag their pants" trying to be like a black person because that is considered "cool" or the black person will dress preppy talk in a "white form" and then considered an oreo but to them its "cool". It all depends where you come from in your community. I know like kids who travel from uptown to downtown manhattan try to dress more "nicer" or have a different look from where they actually from because its cool. For example like if your a black african american wearing a marmot jacket and some ACG boots you know off the bat "oh that person is from Harlem" the people might not want to be portrayed as that so they change their outer apperance to fit in with others.

In class when we talked about the cultural maps i thought everything was true. We try to fit these maps based off our parents or our surroundings. In one view, if you are a hispanic/black kid trying to attend school just getting by being pushed by parents to go to college at the same time getting made fun of by those same people within your community is that really "cool?" Some cultural maps do not work in other cultural maps. Its like we are slaves in our very own cultural map. I remeber in class when Andy talked about Asians kids being told they have to go to school and be this and be that and not talk or interact with the black kids because they are a bad infulence but in that kind of place it not so "cool" to do that. So what should we really follow?

I think that the paths of coolness that is leading us down is trying to follow that same cultural map that we are so used to and then trying to fit it in a new environment at the same time doing what we think is "cool" ourselves. Its just impossible. Both aspects collide. I do not think we should blame the people making us do this stupid shit because i think it does not provide us to think for ourselves. When it comes to myself and my cultural its been the same in my family go to school, go to college and be successful. Thats what i've been told i feel like it will never changed although i think that as the years go we are just trying to make these maps better.

Hw 33-Cool Paper Outline

Thesis: The idea of cool varies in many different ways. Everywhere you go you witness it. Its what we live off of. We seems to try and make this idea of "cool" but what is it really? I feel like we push ourselves to be this "cool" person but what happens when its over. There nothing much there but just pure emptiness.

Body Paragraph 1: Meaning of Cool.

Body Paragraph 2: Apperance of Cool.

Body Paragraph 3: Emptiness

Body Paragraph 4: Cultural Maps

Conclusion: Sum up everything

**Might switch a few things.

Hw 32- Tattoos and The Presentation of the Self

After listening to Mr.Fanning story about his tattoos i thought that it was interesting how when he said that after his band broke up he decide to go more farther than this elbow more to his wrist. When he talked about his tattoos being armor i thought that was kind of significance, they were kind apart of him and like it was like his outer shell. When he said that America does not have the "formal right of passage" like in jewish reilgion when they reach thirteen they become a man or woman i agree. Maybe when people or young teens get tattoos, dye their hair, wear make-up or get piercing thats their own way of "formal right of passage" to grow or maybe not.

In my opinion, tattoos signify just you expressing yourself in art just as you do with hobbies or things you have passions for such as a sport, music, etc. Tattoos branch off to so many things. Depending who gets a tattoos it means different things such as age and race. If a minority got an tattoo they are considered hardcore and "hard life". On the other hand if a non-minority got an tattoo it means totally different.

Lots of time when people get tattoos they feel special and "cool". Its just very symbolic. When it comes to gendering tattoos, i think men get them on the triceps because it shows a sense of "i am a macho man! I am strong" etc as for the women getting them on their ankles and their cleavage its a sign of sensual and sexy. It crazy how we catergoizes us so that we are portrayed as this particular male or female.

I feel like back then tattoos were more like if you had one you were considered a rebel or like "oh my god you really got that?" to that degree. Nowadays when people get tattoos its common and its a not a "wow" factor but it also considered "cool". To me i like tattoos and think they are "cool". I actually want one myself. Seeing other people with tattoos makes me want to get one even more.