Ryan's Blog

Digital Stories - Depression

I've been in and out of college for three years now. I took computer programing, electrical tech and mechanical tech to finally realize which program I was really interested in, which is environmental tech. I got attracted by this program because I discovered that I loved working outdoors and with nature. I had many labour jobs which required me to work a lot with my hands in an outdoor environment. More recently, I worked at Canada’s wonderland for the summer doing landscape maintenance. It wasn’t anything like observing or sample nature but to make it look pretty. I was working 8 hours a day 7 days a week and enjoyed every second of it. Not only because I enjoyed the tasks but I appreciated being in an outdoor environment and working with my hands. I’ve always enjoyed being outdoors since I was young. I would love going camping, fishing and hike in the nearby forests. Not only do I like being outside but I also care about nature. I’ve always appreciated what the Earth has provided us with and how important it is to us and all living species. So studying in a program that will teach me a lot about how the earth works, how to observe it and how to improve it sounds more like a hobby to me.

I feel like it’s a duty for all of us to help make our world a healthier and safer place to live for ours and future generations to come. If we continue living this type of lifestyle we are only destroying our home slowly each year, harming the future generations. It’s if we start the change now before it’s too late. This is why I joined this program, to spread awareness and do my part in making our home more environmentally friendly.

Whether you are a freshman or a sophomore there are many ways for students to make their lives easier.
Here are 5 different ways:

1. Be Social
You don't want to spend the whole year alone so try to be social. I’m a bit shy myself so I know how daunting it can be at times but it forms with many benefits in return. You’ll enjoy more of your time in class, even giving you a boost in motivation knowing that you’re both working towards the same goal. Also the biggest benefit is if you couldn’t make it to class or you need help with homework you can always contact your classmate friend for some help.

2. Create Good Study Habits
You should always plan ahead of time, you do not want to leave any studying to the last minute. Jot down every assignment, test or lab for every class including the due date and check them off as you complete them. To create a good study habit, study at the same time each day and study in an area away from distractions.

3. Plan Properly
Set up a school year calendar with all major dates like projects, meetings, exams, holidays, presentations and etc to get a big picture of your semester. Make a weekly schedule with more details of duties for each class that week. Also at the end of each day make a to-do-list which includes routines, errands and study time.

4. Set Priorities
You have to make sure you are mindful of your actions and always make more time for the things that are more important. That goes for your life in and outside of school. You have to ask yourself; how much time and energy should I invest in a certain thing or what are the good, bad or best things that may happen if I take a certain action.

5. Stop Procrastination
Without having a good plan you will procrastinate. Whenever you get an assignment or a date for a test, set a goal for when you’ll start and finish studying to make sure you don’t leave things last minute. You want to keep your stress to a near minimum because stress and really fatigue your mind and your way of learning. Remember, take it head on a bit at a time. Leaving it to last minute means the lack of quality.

Social media is the interaction of people online in which they create, share or exchange information, ideas, and pictures/videos in virtual communities. The majority of people in today’s society has at least one social media account whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, their own blog or even a YouTube account. There are many ways to use these social sources to your advantage but there are also some disadvantages.

Advantages

You can use social media to connect and interact with your friends and families whether they are near or distant. It’s a different way to get to know your close ones better by looking at what interests them online through their post. It’s a good way to meet new people, not necessarily just for dating but for people that share the same interest. It’s also a good way to network a business as there is always a mass of people online that are interested in a certain niche.

Disadvantages

Social media can also have a bad side because there’s a lack of trust that lingers around the virtual community. There are a lot of scammers and spammers throughout all social media sites in which they try to reel you in to empty out the money in your pockets. There are internet “trolls” that like to spread hatred towards online content that are created by people. These are more seen in the comments of the YouTube community. There are also situations where the distribution of personal private ideas or pictures/videos are exposed online without any constant that can alter ones reputation.

You have to be really careful of how you manage your life through social media because it can be daring at times but once you learn to use it in a safe manner it can be really beneficial.

Isn’t it now obvious that women play a huge role in the gaming industry? There is no longer a ‘stereotype game player’ because now people of all ages, male and female, play video games and a gamer could be your parents, your professor, your boss or even your grandparents. Although, the gaming industry has a reputation of sexism as there has been a lot of cases of were female gamers, game reporters and developers have spoken out about the harassment they experienced in the field. So why the discrimination? It may be because male gamers are angry now that some game developers are altering their games to cater towards females as well, but there are also many other reasons. In a recent study conducted by the ESA (Entertainment Software Association), studies shows that 48% of gamers are females and 52% of them are males. The industry has been in this new era for quite some time observing the research that has been release within the years. Although, this has been a huge increase to what it was back in 2006 where studies showed that 38% of gamers are females and 62% of them were males. Looking at how evenly males and females play games, there is no reason why the video game developers would want their games to fit the demographic. It would simply increase their revenue because now more females are playing games. The gaming industry is at its point where it should start aiming it’s games to target both male and females not only because more females are playing but because they should be the ones to stop the stereotype that some people still have on who plays games. From the same 2014 ESA research, the percentage of females and male game purchasers are equally the same at 50%. Nowadays it’s the norm to see female play games so I believe that the discrimination of female gamers should stop. There will always be issues of harassment when playing a more male dominant game like Call of Duty but I believe that as the years pass with these type of statistics, less harassment and discrimination will occur because consistent presence of female gamers. Having Call of Duty as an example they too wanted to fit the demographic as Sledgehammer Games now includes female characters in which one plays a major role in the new Call of Duty game. A lot of other games involve a lot of female characters like the famous Sims series and also League of Legends. That being said many people still have issues that are aren’t enough female roles in game. Having to play a lot of video games myself, I’ve come across many female gamers that I happily played with, whether if it was rpgs or console games. Games have come a long way since pong and will continue to develop. The big question is, will the gaming industry reputation of sexism forever remain? It’s up to the industry itself to answer that through their productions.

Citations
- Entertainment Software Association. "2006 Essential Facts About The Computer and Video Game Industry." Theesa. n.d., Nov 2014.
- Entertainment Software Association. "2013 Essential Facts About The Computer and Video Game Industry." Theesa. n.d., Nov 2014.
- Entertainment Software Association. "2014 Essential Facts About The Computer and Video Game Industry." Theesa. n.d., Nov 2014.

As the gaming industry continues to grow, issues like the discrimination of girl gamers become more exposed. This issue shouldn’t be looked light upon and I believe that some sort of action should be taken place. Although, I’ve been playing video games for what seems to be like my whole life and I hardly see or experience such discrimination happen toward girls. I understand that it is out there and it is a big issue but I have seen another side of the gaming industry. I used to play a few mmo games (massively multiplayer online games) but more recently I’ve been playing strictly console games. From what I’ve experienced when playing mmo games is that there are a lot of girl gamers then one would think, and I actually played along with more females then males. These types of games aren’t only targeted towards male gamers because they have female characters along with many other things that interest both sex. There are a lot of different genres of games and some are more targeted towards males, some more targeted towards females and some who target both.

There is no such thing as a “real game” and there’s no rule or law that says that only a certain gender can play a particular game. The people who determine such things are strictly speaking out of their own opinions. I believe that the people who are discriminating girl gamers and harassing them are just immature young male teenagers and men who has no respect towards women and feel safe to say whatever they want behind a computer screen. This is an issue that revolves around the internet and not just the gaming industry. The only true way to deal with such behavior is to simply stay away from it. The only weapon they have is their computer and there are many ways for you to filter out such hatred. Would you let someone online effect you in a negative way? Someone that is promoting hatred? You do not want to associate yourself with such kind. There are still positive enforcing gaming communities that don’t tolerate such behaviors and promote equality that you should associate yourself with instead of giving these “trolls” the time of day.

After reading Judy Brandy's essay, "Why I Want a Wife" for the first time my first reaction was a defensive one, I felt somewhat offended. I thought she was making fun of men because they only want a wife for selfish needs, which is stereotyping. Only when I read it the second time I started to realize how powerful and at the same time how humorous this essay was. I believe that this essay inspired a lot of wives when it was published to open their eyes and stand up for themselves. Even though it was pointing fun of how some men objectifies their wife it was also pointing out the things women/wives could do. Women can be independent and not depend on the husband, they can go back to school, work and do anything they feel free to do while supporting their family. Although it may seem like she was targeting toward men, I believe she wrote this essay to the general public who rely on their husband/wife for household and personal duties. A marriage is supposed to be about true love and happiness between the two and that it’s a team effort. If a marriage ever seems like one is treating the other like a maid then I don’t see how that marriage can continue if only one of them is happy. I believe that house wives are an old tradition because now women are more independent and working and wouldn’t want to settle for less for themselves. Even though there will be duties such as taking care of the kids, house chores, providing income and etc., those are the things that would like to be evenly disturbed just because they want to help support their family to the best of their abilities. At the end of the day you would have to do whatever it takes to make sure that your family is well taken care of by cost.

#WhyIStayed

The hash tag #WhyIstayed is a simple yet powerful social trend that shows the complexities of women who are faced with domestic violence. Many women came forth to share their abusive relationships online which really highlighted such an important issue all across the world. I believe that having such attention, people who are effected by domestic violence should start to build up the courage to do something and get out of such lifestyle. Some say in some cases it’s more dangerous to leave then to stay, so researching what the right tools and strategies is the best way to start moving forward before making any drastic decisions. I believe that there are many reasons why women would stay in their abusive relationships. It may be because of isolation, fear, manipulation, humiliation, money or simply because of love.

Some people say that Janay Rice stayed because of his money, or it could be because they just got married and wanted to try to work things out. At the end of the day it's none of our business but support should be shown and available. We can make all the assumptions we want but if Ray Rice is the typical abuser and won’t change his abusive ways, Janay Rice would have to understand the path that is right for her to be safe and happy.

Dealing with domestic violence is a process that needs to be treated delicately. Finding a support system, someone that is close to you and can help, is a first good step on freeing yourself. I personally know women who have been in abusive relationships and heard their stories. It’s heart breaking that a person can have such control over someone which can in some cases make the victim want to commit suicide. I believe Beverly Gooden did a wonderful job prompting awareness for domestic violence and I believe that there should be more awareness for this problem because it can help and support the ones that are in need of it.