Read my Stuff!

This is a bit of shameless self- promotion:

I am now an editorial intern for thesupermelon.com! Here are links to my most recent articles:

http://www.thesupermelon.com/style/nonja-mckenzie-spring-2009/

http://www.thesupermelon.com/style/hm-cdg/

http://www.thesupermelon.com/trends/google-goes-mobile/


Enjoy!

Adultolescence

Everyone knows the pain and awkwardness of adolescence: the squeaky voices, the raging hormones, the new feeling and power that comes with wearing a bra for young girls. but there is a new phenomenon that is sweeping the nation: adultolescence. More and more young adults are graduating from college and returning to live with their parents, while remaining financially dependent on them. With the high costs of food, gas, and housing, as well as the staggering amount of student loans that burdens young adults today, who can blame them? It is sad to say that the cost of living greatly overwhelms the starting salary for a recent college graduate. With the job market getting worse, this trend will likely continue. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "The Next Bailout:Your Adult Children" addresses this very issue. Parents are having to support their children well into adulthood, often helping them with things like buying a house or car.


Is this trend a good or bad thing? Does it prevent young adults from growing up and facilitate dependence on their parents? Is it just parents wanting their children to save money and live debt-free? Is it a group of spoiled young adults? Perhaps it is all of these.

Change Will Do You Good

I want to take this opportunity to talk about change. I once heard the phrase "Life is change and change is life," and I think it is a good way to sum up life. My life has been going through a great deal of change as of recent months. I never thought I would be taking 18 units, teaching literature to 11th graders, mentoring a group of college freshman, and holding down a job and an internship. I have a lot on my plate, and I couldn't be happier. I absolutely love my new internship, and I am in the process of getting a new on-campus job where I make more money.


Some of these changes allow me to see things in a different light. For example, today I had my first day of Humanities Out There, a program where college students teach small groups of high schools students in the low-income Santa Ana school district. This opportunity allowed me to see the stark differences in education that are dictated by class. I attended high school in a wealthy area of Orange County, then transferred to a private Catholic high school. The curriculum in the schools I attended compared with the curriculum in low income areas is like night and day. While the schools I went to had a curriculum where we read and analyzed novels in the literary canon, these students have never read a novel; they are only learning basic grammar. The difference is frustrating and unfair to me; I feel that these kids could do well if society had higher expectations of them. It makes me realize that "equal opportunity" isn't so equal, and that needs to change.