TOW #21 - It's OK to feel insecure sometimes - confidence lapses aren't character flaws

Many beauty trends and feminist movements today emphasize a girl's need to be more confident with themselves at an age and in a society where different pressures lower girls' confidence levels. While loving ourselves and being able to be a girl boss have good intentions, it can sometimes denounce the importance of sometimes-important negative emotions. Jessica Valenti, in her article "It's OK to feel insecure sometimes - confidence lapses aren't character flaws" for the Guardian, Valenti emphasizes that in order to truly love oneself, a person has to forgive themselves for feeling inferior instead of simply shutting those emotions off. As important as it is to stay away from self-hate, people must understand how to face their insecurities in a healthy manner. The "self-esteem industry" emphasizes the need to be self-confident all the time, pointing out the different ways women belittle themselves knowingly or unknowingly. However, there is a difference between self-deprecation due to societal pressures and moments of low tides. In the past, self-confidence was raised often by fitting better to societal standards as portrayed in every situations or in the media, and it's nice that people are moving away from that, but insecurities can sometimes be used to actually improve oneself and reflect on their decisions and portrayal. Just focusing on keeping a high confidence level could block someone from being productive and doing things that are important in reducing those insecurities. It's okay to have bad days, whether you are a man or a woman, and to live a healthier, more respectable life, you must learn to actually look at your insecurities, forgive yourself for having them, and fixing them if necessary, instead of just ignoring it and focusing on the positives.

TOW #20 - (IRB Post) The Omnivore's Dilemma

My IRB for this cycle was about my favorite topic: food. Because we as humans are omnivores, we basically have the biggest un-selective pool out of most organisms, and with the help of technology and industry, we have an even more unlimited pool of choices for dinner. Michael Pollman, through his book  The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, shows the importance of knowing where your food comes from and what to do with that information. Because of an apparent lack of common sense in food choices, it is imperative to follow this central argument in Pollman's text.

Pollman starts his book by outlining the various different places corn appears in. When corn appears in certain places, not everyone realizes in. Pollman says, in a cup of beer, there's more corn there than one would expect, revealing the lack of knowledge most people have in their most basic food choices. When someone doesn't know everything that goes in their food, it affects their choices in eating certain foods. Because we may make choices without knowing full consequences, we must be more aware of what goes in our food.

Another place where it's evident that people lack the knowledge of food is in Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods is a very popular grocery store that most people have been to for safe and healthy food decisions. However, Pollman states that most people don't fully understand the significance of each label that Whole Foods puts on their food. There are many extravagant, appealing labels, with many different ways just to say "grass-fed cows." Because not everyone realizes the difference between those numerous labels, people tend to think they are making smart decisions, and even if they aren't, they don't know to what extent.

Although many people are well-informed in making healthy food choices and their nutritional facts, many people don't know the small things that contribute to making their food they have for dinner each night, but every single detail could affect what we do to ourselves and the environment. Just as Pollman stated, people should be aware of what they eat because being well-informed can not only help us but the environment.