Dubai

Around Thanksgiving time, my dad told me about and showed me some pictures of Dubai because he had just gotten back from there.  I didn't really pay much attention, because I didn't realize the history behind Dubai, or why it was so cool.  Lately though, I have been hearing Dubai come up in numerous conversations, and I've seen articles about it in magazines.  I decided to google it to find out what was so exciting about the city.  I found a CBS 60 Minutes brief about it, and found Dubai to be very interesting.  The city has been developing since 2000.  The man who is in charge of Dubai, Shake Muhammed seems to be extremely ambitious.  The news brief followed him around Dubai as he talked about his ideas and goals for the city.  Already, Dubai is a major business landing, and an expensive area to invest it, and it's only growing.  Currently, a tower is being built to be twice as tall as the Empire State Building.  Muhammed stated that in 2 nights, 85% of this building was sold for a total of $1.2 billion.  This city seems to be on the rise to be the biggest and the best; the biggest shopping center in the world is currently under construction in Dubai. Shake Muhammed does not seem to be one to settle for anything less than the perfect.  He is striving to make this city an epicenter for business and travel, and he is succeeding thus far.  I think the concept of building this city from the ground up is really exciting, and I look forward to watching its progress as it becomes more established throughout the years.

Human Maltreatment

I just read an article on the CBS News website that a 73 year old Australian father had been holding his daughter captive for 24 years until last night.  Authorities searched and searched for her, as this man kept the grueling secret that he was the actual one holding her captive.  Throughout these 24 years, this woman gave birth to 6 children, who are suspected to have been conceived by her father, as he raped her numerous times.  You can read the article at this website: http://cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/27/world/main4048458.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4048458.  I found this article interesting, not only because of how shocking it is, but also because we just wrapped up a chapter on child abuse and neglect in my Development Psychology class.  Although this woman was not a child, the concept is similar, because her father was the one abusing her.  Child abuse is horrible, and sadly not uncommon.  It is reported that about 900,000 child maltreatment cases are reported annually.  Of these 900,00 cases, 60% of them are considered neglect, 20% physical abuse, 10% sexual abuse, and 10% emotional abuse.  Although this case would not have been reported as child maltreatment, this woman would have been considered neglected, physically abused, sexually abused, and most likely emotionally abused.  Girls are four times more likely than boys to be sexually abused, like this woman was.  It's sad that people could treat others with such disrespect.  You would think people who acted with such awful behavior would be considered to have a mental disorder, but studies have shown that these people are 100% normal, they just took a wrong turn.  You should definitely read this news article.

Goodbye Freshman Year. Already?!

It seems like just yesterday that I was leaving my home to drive to the airport and catch a plane for Dallas, to start my first year of college.  I was nervous and excited, and I knew it would be a long time until I came home for summer to catch up with my friends.  I've missed my friends so so so much throughout the year, but I just can't believe that I'm going to get to see them again in less than 3 weeks!  This school year has gone by faster than any other school year so far.  I'm super excited to be reunited with my friends, but I'm not ready to leave SMU, or for my freshman year to be over.  Freshman year seems as though it's different than any other year at college.  Freshman year is full of new friends and new experiences.  I personally am not ready to leave that.  I'm going to miss coming back to the dorms after going out, and I'm going to miss seeing the faces in the hallways of my dorm that I take for granted everyday.  I hope all years do not fly by this quickly.

Comment : Career Choices

I commented on Miss Lame Names post about career choices.  See what I wrote here...

http://misslamename.blogspo.com/2008/04/argument-career-choices.html

Comment: Career Choices

I commented on Miss Lame Name's post about career choices.  See what I wrote here...

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