The Blog We Share in MM199

           Diet culture defined by dietitian Christy Harrison is a system of beliefs that:  1.Praises thinness equating it to health, meaning people spend their lives thinking they are not worthy because they do not fit the thin ideal being advertised.  2. Weight loss is a way of gaining higher status, leading one to devote time, energy and money trying to reach this ideal, regardless if research shows it is not sustainable.  3. Certain ways of eating are wrong ,and others are right making a person feel ashamed, and guilty about eating a certain way.  4. It puts down people who do not match this high ideal of what health looks like harming people belonging to different communities namely females, transgender, people who inhabit naturally larger bodies, people of color and people with disabilities. Diet Culture   Diet culture is the backbone of most “health” industries, like gyms that advertise you’...

Photo Credit:mmamania.com The competitors of the sport are not making the big bucks as most assume when they’re working for the UFC, the biggest promotion in the world! Many of its fighters in the past and present have spoken against their laughable pay structure. Coming from a billion dollar corporation, it is safe to say nobody should be earning under $25,000 per fight taking the consideration as to how expensive it pays to be a fighter. A former fighter Nate Quarry explains some downsides of his experience with the promotion stating “a fighter gets to use the gym at the hotel he’s fighting for free. The cornermen and everyone with him have to pay. So I’m helping Leben make weight the day of weigh is and have to pay to go sit in the sauna with him. The UFC couldn’t say, the fighters get 3 people to go into the gym with him the week of the fight. That’s just nickel and dime stuff.” Quarry continues on to state that for his UFC 56 ppv world title fight with Rich Franklin, he w...

This is easily my least favorite aspect of the sport, actually something I hate! Competitors will cut down as much water weight in their bodies for their preferred class to get a strength and size advantage over their opponent. I see this as cheating and completely unfair in most cases, especially comparing 2 opponents in which one side drops at least 15 pounds while his or her opponent is a natural in that weight class and drops no significant amount at all. The beginning of the cut involves proper preparation for weight loss such as trimming back on carbs in your diet exercise an intensively, the ridiculous amount for a period of 6 to 7 weeks. The final week of the cut is considered to be the most serious in which you attempt to become as lean as possible without losing muscle mass or strength. The competitor will insert oneself in a rubber sweatsuit, pants, and top. Cover their skin with a makeup remover, Abolene to open up their pores. Get on a treadmill and run for se...

Photo credit: reviewjournal.com Before someone commits to an MMA program, complete with its relentless time learning techniques, intensive conditioning work, they would be well advised to assess the internal qualities they may or may not possess, as the mental factors come into play. The second step to competing in the sport involves progressively developing a good cardiovascular and strength base independently or with the assistance of the many MMA gyms available. Developing the intensity in cardio and strength components in training before joining an MMA gym can be a good way to get accustomed to the time and demands of the intense training expected of the facility. Developing the basics is essential to progressing in the field but another key skill competitors must possess is its mental requirements to help overcome the pressure, especially if you are planning on competing of such abilities of high concentration, persistence, and inner strength.

Your average human might see a glance of MMA on television, then label it as just cage fighting.   It is simply much more than that. It is a full-contact combat sport that combines elements of striking, grappling and ground fighting, created from various combat sports before its inception. One of the earliest forms of MMA originated from the Han Dynasty in ancient China, developed by the Chinese military as a form of hand to hand combat used in warfare. The art was called Shai Jiao and used combined styles such as wrestling and kung fu. It was one of the first martial arts to incorporate both striking and grappling techniques including punching, kicking, throwing, and various submission hold or locks. While MMA bouts took place previously, the term was not used until the Ultimate Fighting Championship came into existence in 1993. MMA combines physical disciplines and techniques to create a competitive sport where opponents fight using kicks, punches as well as submis...

By Christina Noland That one motivational, meme-filled speech you all know you needed but never wanted. https://soundcloud.com/christina-noland-680718533/managing-stress-with-pro-gamer-panda/s-MkQDcYdKXPo [Graphic by Christina Noland]

Graphics by: Quay'Shawn Akins One more week in this quarantine,  May 3  the date Governor Kelly has agreed that the " Stay at home order" is to end. As we get closer to that day I realized that the media isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I mean as long as we have the access to electricity to get that media going no matter who does what there is going to be an audience, depending on which there are some that have their opinion on things or going to share just because of the type of story it is that brings a lot of  clicks (views). That being said with television we have all kinds of news channels that talk about the same story or some don't even talk about the same stuff, To social media with a lot of fake news or news that scare people made me come to realization that its Me V.S the media. It is really hard but you have to look at it as the media trying to bring us humans down mentally. It portrays us to think we need to be aware of  every little thing in the...

By: Quay'Shawn Akins The first day that we went into the  Stay at home order  I didn't really take it as serious as I did now.By that I mean I thought it was going to be for like a week or that since we experience sickness like Ebola or Swine flu that doctors would fix it fast. Unfortunately, this is like day 246(not really) so this is a pretty serious thing. The day I realized "OK this is serious" and " OK this world is in trouble". Well watching  CBS  seeing the president and Dr. Birx during these weeks on the world news. Them taking turns to speak about what to expect and not to expect I'm think I would see something serious on TV like people wearing masks or something crazy like flu scene. I'm still watching the TV our president laughing and joking, there were promises made by him that this virus wouldn't even touch serious on this US while the doctor is in a more serious mode than him, just seeing things like that during this time espec...

https://soundcloud.com/quayshawn-akins/media-exposure-podcast This link is to a Podcast that I made to give tips on how to manage your time during this hard time. In this Podcast you will here what I feel did me best. I also thought these were the best ways to avoid being exposed to media all day. Please listen to this podcast you will gain the information you need if you have a hard time by your self and struggling with anxiety or loneliness. 

Video By: Quay'Shawn Akins This video is about how I feel about media exposure and what I've experienced during this hard time trying something new for the better.

Photo by: Quay'Shawn Akins took in Basic Photography Its kind of crazy how what we can all say as people living on the world we can relate to each other and say we went through a pandemic( COVIC-19 ) 20 years from now.  During this experience I can say a lot of time has been spent on my phone which made me notice a lot of stuff about my self. Does social media effect you when there is too much time spent on it? Especially when we are to do nothing, ordered to quarantine for our safety of course and not only scroll up and down our phones but also watch a lot of breaking news on TV. That's a lot of media exposure but How much is too much? When really all you can do that I gained a lot of stress from just seeing/hearing a lot of news that brings me anxiety like who wants to be in the house for 3 months as a possibility was told one day watching TV. I came up with things to do lie take walks, listen to music, delete social media, face time friends, homework, learn my family...

By Christina Noland Your friends know what it’s like to be given an assignment and feel alone while working on it. If you’re lucky and have had a few classes with a friend by coincidence, you’ll know the difference in what it’s like to have someone there to help keep you on track. In reality, the pressure of assignments is still 100% each student’s responsibility. But the knowledge that someone else you know is sharing your burden is comforting. Ask For Help If you have someone you trust that will look over a paper or give you direction on an assignment, you have someone to fall back on. You won’t feel alone. You need to ask for help if you need it. Additionally, being around close friends inherently lowers stress. Not only will you have an extra pair of eyes on your homework, you’ll be much more productive as well! Keep a Friendly  Work Space Working a job can be a huge stress in your life but having friends in your corner help tremendously. A st...

By Christina Noland According to an online poll from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 14% of people use exercise to regularly cope with stress. Others reported sleeping, watching TV or listening to music. But, wait, I’m too lazy to exercise or leave my den. When you are super stressed and want a quick way to calm down, tricking your brain is going to be the way to go. Find A Ball Find a small ball with bounce to it. It can be a tennis ball or a squishy stress relieving ball (which would serve two purposes). Chuck the ball at the closest open wall, catch and repeat. Why do this? Repetition is key. The sound of the ball hitting the wall will lull your brain to sleep without causing drowsiness, especially if you’re super anxious. The small bit of exercise in bouncing the ball will be distracting enough to reset your brain as well. If your ball happens to be super squishy, you know what to do. Talk To Yourself (Obviously don’t do...

By Christina Noland I know I just mentioned eating cheese to reduce stress and aid sleep. Put that at the back of your mind and focus on what you should be eating throughout the day to help keep stress at a minimum. Stress eating usually translates into sugary food, like cookies, or comfort food, like chips or bread. These foods are good if you want to calm yourself down because they boost serotonin and melatonin levels. But they won’t help you focus. Junk food will make you drowsy and make it even easier to put off working, doing chores, or completing projects. Essentially, comfort food at the wrong time is actually stress inducing in the long run. Here are some snacks that can help you keep focus and alert throughout the day while keeping your stress level low. Berries Blueberries in particular have been connected to reducing stress related to PTSD . They boost serotonin levels and have natural sugars to help keep you awake if you feel drowsy. F...

By Christina Noland Stress is part of our everyday lives. From unexpected car trouble to family drama, stress always has a way to make itself known. While everyone has their own threshold, stress affects the entire body, mentally as well as physically. Every college student should have a game plan ready for when the day doesn’t go their way. Here are some tips to consider the next time stress or anxiety rear its ugly head. Take Naps Stress affects your productivity as well as your sleep.  Take some hints from your friendly neighborhood cat and nap to reset your day. Taking short naps to combat stress is a great way to keep yourself alert and even improve your memory! Don’t take naps too often! Sleeping too much throughout the day will throw off your regular sleeping cycle. Trust me, I’ve done this plenty of times. Eat Cheese? So what happens when you laze around too much or are too overwhelmed or anxious to fall asleep? Not a problem. Just go eat som...

The Evolution of Female Characters By Katie Hampton Gender stereotypes have been around for as long as I can remember. The thing about stereotypes is that they are easy and sometimes they can be accurate, which make people more susceptible to thinking that all stereotypes are true. Classic stereotypes for female characters include, but are not limited to: the damsel in distress, psycho ex-girlfriend, gold digger, and so on. In and of itself, this does not seem harmful, at times it can even be funny to watch. It begins to be a problem, when these stereotypes are getting hammered into children's head so they start to believe that these beliefs over a certain category of people are true. I believe the media has come a long way at promoting strong female characters to audiences. We as a society still have plenty left to improve, but women are becoming more prominent in the media as heroes, villains, and complex characters, instead of used as arbitrary side components to the plot...

By: Hannah March Billie Eilish has become one of today's best pop stars. She is known nationally by millions of people around the world. This all started by her writing a song with her brother and posting it on Soundcloud "just for fun". She has become an iconic female role model. This goes to show that no matter how cliche it sounds you can achieve just about anything if you just go for it. She is a multi grammy winner and has hit 9.3 million followers on instagram. She has met many legendary people along that way. Billie continues to amaze her crowds with each and every song she comes out with and I believe things will continue that way for her for many more years. Her personality and attitude has helped her tremendously along that way. For as young as she is and was when she started she was faced with many adult decisions to make and has continuously made choices to better herself and the ones around her. Her achievements are outstanding and more than most ...

Are you interested in what a trip to the Hawaiian islands might look like? If so, watch my video!

Image By Shutterstock By: Seth Cross 70% of lottery winners actually have less money than they did originally within 7 years. But how in the world is this possible? The answer is simple: irresponsibility, stupidtiy, however you want to phrase it. But what are some of the craziest things that lottery winners have blown their new-found wealth on? After some research, here are the wildest reported things that I was able to find.  A man from the United Kingdom who won 10 million dollars built a race track in his backyard and held demolition derbies. A winner in New Jersey of 5.4 million, lost her money gambling within 2 years and is now living in a trailer park basically penniless. The first thing a woman from North Carolina bought after winning 4 million, was another lottery ticket. She won another 1 million on the second ticket. A man who won 3 million immediately used that money to start selling guns and crystal meth, he's now facing life in prison. A woman spend $500,...

Image By Shutterstock By: Seth Cross As mentioned in my last post, there are some states that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous, but still many do not. There is a great deal of controversy and debate surrounding this issue. On one hand, allowing winners to stay anonymous protects them by not allowing the rest of the world to find out they're a multi-millionaire over night. However, if winners were allowed to remain anonymous, it would be extremely easy for fraudulent practices to occur by the lottery itself. The lottery organization could just declare a "winner", and keep the money themselves or paid out to a person of their choice. I understand this sounds far fetched, but there's been a great deal researched and written about this very conundrum. Many lottery organizations, on advice from the FTC, want to remain as transparent about how they operate and how they payout their big prizes. If not, they will fall under tremendous scrutiny by the general publ...

By: Hannah March  As we all know, Billie Eilish completely swept the 2020 Grammys. Two of the five including best new artist and song of the year. She also won best new record and album. This is a huge deal, especially being that she is only 18 years old. This was a traumatic time for everyone attending being that Kobe Bryant had passed away just hours before as he was given a lovely tribute during the event. It is almost unreal how fast Billie's career skyrocketed in only a matter of a few years. She quoted in an interview after the event that she is just as surprised as everyone else is with how her career is panning out. She also mentions she knew she had some talent but her fans are her number one confidence booster. Everyone knows she is well deserved of all of this. Billie is known for her raw vocal talent and that is the reason she swept 5 Grammys in one night.  

Image credits to Shutterstock By: Seth Cross  It doesn't take long for a little research to prove some of the horrors that can come from winning the lottery. There is story after story of a big jackpot breaking up a marriage, ending friendships, and ruining lives as a whole. However bad the social impacts could be, winning the lottery could literally cost you your life. While some states allow winners to stay anonymous, most don't. Therefore it becomes public knowledge that you won big money. When that happens, you might as well have spray painted a giant bulls-eye on your back. Not only will you be hounded for money by anyone who knows you, and some who don't, you also increase your chances of being robbed or killed dramatically .  Studies have even shown that 70% of lottery winners have even less money than they originally did within 7 years. No matter how you slice it, there is a great many negative aspects and dangers of winning the lottery that people rarely con...

By: Hannah March It was no surprise when Billie's singles hit billboard shortly after release. Listening to one of her songs alone was enough to know that they were going to go far. All of her most common singles were easily on Billboard's hot 100. But one song hit #1 one on billboard which is a huge deal and very difficult to do. Billie's hit single "Bad Guy" hit #1 in August of 2019. Which is definitely a milestone for a young artist who is really just starting out. This was incredible as is, but all of the singles hitting top 100 is incredible as well. Billie Eilish is without a doubt one of the youngest artists to blow up as fast as she did. Billie's overall identity is completely different than most. She is known for her edgy and kind of dark looks but in all actuality she is one of the sweetest celebs we know today. Constantly hugging and greeting her fans with a huge smile. Which I believe is why she is still rising and rising in the world of fam...

By: Hannah March Nothing like today, Billie first performed in front of a small crowd of just 50 people at a small park located in Isla Vista, California. The makeshift stage was made just in front of the small communities community center. With a small booth located in the back selling an assortment of merchandise, including hoodies and long sleeve tees. The small show ended up selling out and within the next 6 months her shows were tripling and selling out within hours of the posting. She then began performing in places such as Santa Barbara, LA and San Francisco at some of the worlds largest theaters. In February 2018, Billie began her "Where's My Mind?" tour. This nationally known tour was a huge hit for her.  This exact same year she then met with singer Khalid '' to release the hit single "lovely". This song was also huge for her as Khalid was already nationally known and loved. The same song was featured in the hit show "13 reason...

By: Elle Barrett This final COVID-19 theory has been discussed more and more since the virus arrived in the United States. Many believe that China attempted to cover up the virus from the moment it started to until now. Mid-November 2019, the coronavirus made its first jump to a human in Wuhan, China. In December, China then realized the virus had arisen from a local live animal market. On New Year’s Eve, the market was shut down and they claim there wasn’t any evidence of human to human infection, which wasn’t true. They thought once they closed the market, the virus would be gone. Did they know different at that time? Absolutely. They were seeing cases coming into the hospitals that had nothing to do with the market. The virus was now doubling weekly, and China knew it was being spread through human to human contact, but the rest of the world had no clue what was going on.  January 25 th , the official Lunar holiday is the biggest holiday in China. More human beings mov...

By: Hannah March As we all know Billie Eilish started at the bottom and built her way all the way to the top. The young 13 year old's dance teacher asked her to write a song for a choreographed dance. Billie uploaded the hit song "ocean eyes" to a popular music streaming app called Soundcloud,  without any idea what fame this would bring her. Billie began making music from an early age, she sang with the LA children's chorus as just a child. Billie states that music always ran in the family and that she learned from her older brother, Phinneas O'connall, who had a music career before she did. Billie states that for as long as she can remember she was singing, she remembers her family constantly having to shush her because that is all she would do. As mentioned earlier she learned all of her choral skills from the LA children's chorus. She started writing her own material around the age 11. Billie explains that her and her brother were actually the ones w...

[Graphic by freepik ] By Glorianna Noland Yes, there are some numbers that you should have committed to memory, because life may be just a tad easier if you do. Firstly, remember the phone numbers of those closest to you. I cannot tell you the amount of times I have talked to people who say that they don’t remember their own phone numbers OR the numbers of emergency contacts—such as family or close friends. What if your phone dies, you manage to borrow another, and you need to call somebody? You’re going to be hearing a lot of dial tone if you don’t have those digits locked away in your brain somewhere. Some people even recommend memorizing the number of your local bank manager or financial advisor to help you get access of your assets. Now, while numbers are all important, there is one string of numbers you should have down to a T. Your Social Security number. It’s too risky to ever carry it with you or have it as a picture in your gallery on your ph...

[Graphic by pikisuperstar ] By Glorianna Noland Having a credit card doesn't equate to always using it. Rule of thumb: if you can't pay for it with any actual liquidity or cash, you really shouldn't be paying for it with the card. "But why?" one may ask. "There's money on it, why shouldn't I use it?" The answer my dear, is what goes wrong when you can't pay off your credit card: high interest rates, late fees and the huge dent it can have in your credit score (considering that 30% of a credit score is based on your debt). Y'know, the thing that you use to prove you're not a risk to the bank so they can give you a loan? Now, if it’s an emergency and you need those funds, more power to you Various tips such as avoiding your credit limit (not spending more than is on the card), checking your statement, and setting up an automatic payment plan to avoid late bills can protect your financial future. Even c...

Chances are that you've either worked in customer service or you will in the future. Some might argue that a true rite of passage into adulthood is working in retail or other general service positions. Enjoy three friends talking about experiences in life relating to responsibility, respect, and credibility through a couple short tales about being on either end of customer service.

[Graphic by dooder ] By Glorianna Noland Looking at the title, you can get the general message of this post. However, it’s easier said than done. Business Insider succinctly describes how these choices create the identity of an individual, that important hurdles such as deciding where to live, to continue a relationship or remain independent, and taking a risk on that job you always wanted—all of this defines your place in the world. That doesn’t mean you should be making choices haphazardly. This isn’t a TellTale game where you only deal with the consequences of your actions upon the character you play as for a few hours. This is your life. It’s permanent (usually). It’s understandable to avoid making decisions, especially if you’ve been burned in the past by it. An article  in Psychology Today claims that decision-making is “something we all need to learn how to do,” and that it’s an essential skill that takes years to master. Weigh the pros and c...