Letter to Seventeen Magazine

Dear Ms. Anat,

I am a Human Development major at Brigham Young University and I am writing to you as a concerned woman about how damaging the media can be for young girls and their social development. I am currently studying the effects of media on the family and I would like to talk to you about maybe some improvement in your magazine. I think that the idea of your magazine is wonderful and is a great way for girls to get information about life and fashion and what they go through during their teenage years, however, I think that some of the information can do more harm than good with your teenage readers.

The point of my letter is to focus on the idea of body image. Most teenage girls struggle with body image and the media doesn’t help, bombarding them with images and ideas that being thin is was makes you popular and cool when in reality most girls will never be a size 2. I think it would be great to have images of “normal”, meaning not a size 2, sized girls in your magazines, which would be a portrayal of a lot of teenage girls. Because of all the pressures the media, including your magazine, put on girls I feel like girls are trying to live up to these impossible standards the world and media has set. It’s like they have raised the bar so high it is almost unattainable to young girls. I think it would be a great idea if your magazine published an article once a month in each issue about a young girl who is just your average high school girl who has accomplished something great! But, she might not be the usual type of girl you would post in your magazine, someone who is maybe not a model or someone the world would consider beautiful but, who is beautiful because she is really smart or because she does a lot for other people.

This is just an idea. I think it would make girls feel better about themselves because every girl is beautiful in her own way and a lot of girls need to hear that! I think your magazine is wonderful and can do and does a lot of good for a lot of girls. I think that this would have a great impact on many girls and would give your magazine a lot more attention as well! Overall, I think it would be a win win!

I appreciate you taking the time to read my letter and hopefully it can spark and idea to maybe make a change for the good.

Sincerely,

Jennie Allen

From Here to the Moon and Back

I am willing to admit here and now that I heard this song while I was watching....the Bachelorette. Yes, you heard me right. Now, I know what all you ladies are thinking, finally someone else loves this show too. Haha I know this show is totally rediculous but it is my guilty pleasure. Anyway, I am getting off track. But, this song was sung acoustic by the Queen of country herself Ms. Dolly Parton and I thought it was such a sweet song. It is called from the moon and back! It made me think of my Mom and how much she loves me and how she would do anything for me. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCdbP2EjDL4

Ad of the Week

So, I saw this ad the other day where this woman's tips are how to get ready in the morning if you have the same problems she does because of smoking. Have you seen this? Now, I don't know about you but this scares me to death. This makes me DEFINITELY not want to smoke. Smoking has never been appealing to me ever, and these ads just confirm that for me. I think that this is such a sad ad and I feel awful for this woman. Smoking has completely changed her life and has given hear so many health problems. I think that these ads are very affective because no one want to go through what this woman has. Besides the fact that she tells you smoking is bad, you can see how scary she looks and how different she sounds. Overall, a very depressing ad but I think very affective.

CARS

I nanny my nephew Kaden and lately his favorite movie to watch is Cars. He loves Lightning McQueen and gets so excited when he sees him on the screen. This morning I was watching him and he was quite fussy. He is getting his molers, poor little guy, and he was not wanting to play or eat or do anything, so I put on Cars for him to watch. Don't judge me, I am the fun aunt who let's him watch movies when he is grumpy! ;) haha but in all seriousness, what is so interesting to me is that a movie is what can calm him down. Keep in mind that he doesn't watch a lot of TV or movies very often. We, meaning me and his parents, like to play with him a lot. We take him outside and read and all sorts of other fun things. But, for some reason, he will just stop fussing as soon as you put on one of his movies. I don't know what it is. But, that's my go to "help" when he is struggling if I am watching him. I am loosing track here, sorry for the tangent, but I wanted to just say that it is so fun to watch kids get so excited about something. Kaden is starting to talk a lot more and can say "Ka Chow" and "McQueen" and "Mater" and it is just so cute to see him learn and understand and recognize these things.

Got Milk??

Tell me, does this make you want to drink milk? The Got Milk ad campaign lasted for a while and used celebrity endorsements to get people to want to drink milk. Not gonna lie, I think these were great ads. I think it is a great way, especially when targeted towards kids, is a successful ad. Honestly, this ad makes me want to drink milk, because I want a cool milk mustache like that, AND milk just looks delicious right now! Haha

But, tell me you're ideas. Do you think this is a successful ad?

What About Books?

Growing up I was never much of a reader. I would usually read for school or for fun on vacations, but I never sat down and read hundreds of books. It's not because I don't not like to read, but I would just find other things to do. But, for an assignment we were asked to think about what our favorite books were and that was hard for me. I really had to think about that because there was not one book the jumped right out at me as a favorite or one that really changed my life. But, after a little bit of thinking I figured out the books that made an impact in my life.

I think sometimes we don't really think about the impact books can have in our lives because I don't think that when we are reading them we are consciously thinking of how this book I am reading is changing my life. However, after we read them they impact us in a way that we might not have thought. For me,  "Night" was the book that had an impact on my life. It made me so grateful for my life and for all the blessings I in my life. I am so lucky to live in this day and age and that I don't have to suffer like so many innocent people did during WWII.

I am grateful for books and the power they have to help shape us into the people we want to become, whether we know it or not. Books open up so many doors and opportunities for us and we shouldn't take that for granted.

Tell Me What You Think!

I thought it would be fun to post different ads each week and see how effective that ad it. Yes, that means that I want to hear from you! I want to know if this ad grabs your attention, what you like about it what you don't, etc. Keep in mind that I will post some ads that are not normal ads we might see, but ads none the less. So, please don't be shy and tell me what you think :)

Lets get things rolling with this first ad! Ladies, this one is for you!  Does this make you want a Kenwood mixer?

This ad makes me laugh because of the play on words here. Chef is the product name, but also implies the husband is the chef as well. I think this ad is definitely targeted for men because its saying a woman would love to have this electric mixer because it does all the hard work. No offense guys, but this is a lame attempt to get a woman to cook for you!

International Cinema

This afternoon I was able to go see an international film in Arabic. What a cool experience. I always love being able to see other people from around the world and their ways of life. This film was made in Jordan and it was so interesting to see how people live their lives there. It is always such an experience to travel or even see different places of the world, because it opens my eyes to this great big world we live in. However, it is hard to see others struggling just to get by from each day to the next because when I take a look at my life, my challenges are very minuscule in comparison. While I was watching this film, I kept reflecting on my own life and how I sometimes take things for granted. I was humbled as I walked out of the film and realized how fortunate and blessed I am to be here, going to school, working, spending time with family and friends, etc. I am very blessed and sometimes it takes something as simple as an international film to make me realize that.


I think that it is wonderful that BYU offers so many international films to watch because it gives anyone the opportunity to view media from different places around the world. For a few hours you are able to escape, to what seems like another world, and enjoy cinematic masterpieces from far away. If you haven't done it, I would highly recommend taking the time to go enjoy one of these films. They are great, and who knows what you will learn :)

LOVE


I absolutely love the Mormon Message's ads on Youtube. Lately I came across this video which has really stuck with me. I have been spending a lot of time with my family lately and am realizing that this life is really short in the grand scheme of things and that we need to really focus on those people that we love. Nothing is more important than our families and nothing should stop us from telling them that we love them everyday! I am grateful for these positive messages that are available for everyone to see because, I believe, that they can make a huge difference in someones life.


So, if you have a minute, check this video out! I hope it makes your day better like it did mine :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYhDhiojBPA