Media's Effect on Children

The Promotion of Racism through Children’s Media

            As Stephen Colbert stated, “I love the truth. It’s the facts that I’m afraid of.”  People have a tendency to only acknowledge things in history that make them seem strong, but respectable and moral.  When it comes to race most people will claim they are not racist at all. In a poll done by CNN, they asked 328 blacks and 703 whites if they knew someone who they consider to be racist; 43 percent of whites and 48 percent of blacks said yes.  They then asked if they would consider themselves to be racist to which only 13 percent of whites and 12 percent of blacks said yes (CNN). Colbert says it best in his statement, “I don’t see color, but people tell me I’m white and I believe them because people call me ‘Sir.’” (Colbert). Racism is more than just the respect levels that different nationalities get over another; it is a mental block that people keep inheriting, which results in disarray and lack of unity as a country. It has been a serious problem in the United States going all the way back to the development of the country. After so many tries to end racism by Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and many others, the problem is still dominant in the American Society. Parents teach their children from an early age what to believe, and because of that the racism continues from generation to generation. The question that arises now is whether or not racism has the potential to disappear. With the efforts of children’s media groups such as Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks, they are proving that racism is beginning to diminish with a new generation of children, beginning with their attempt to show all forms of culture and race in a positive light in their children’s movies, but it is going to take lots of work for it to completely disappear.

            In Jane Elliott’s experiment, done in the 1960s, on how children react to racism, she proved that children are susceptible to outside forces, which can include programs in the media that children are exposed to. If children are told something once, they take it as fact and live by that. Jane Elliott proved this by making her 3^rd grade students participate in an experiment on the harms of racism.  After Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, Elliott became aware of how naïve her students were on the effects of racism considering they lived in a predominately Caucasian society. She came to class the next day and asked if they wanted to participate in an experiment. She told them that they were going to distinguish between each other by their eye color. Brown-eyed children were bad, mean, uneducated, and less important than blue-eyed children. She made the brown-eyed children move to the back of the classroom— they couldn’t participate at recess, they couldn’t get seconds at lunch, and they had to wear a scarf around their neck so people knew immediately they had brown eyes. The blue-eyed children got all the benefits and she praised them constantly. The children immediately conformed to their roles. The blue-eyed children were extremely cruel to their brown-eyed former friends, and the brown-eyed children became quiet and did poorly on their assignments. Both personas completely changed to match what they were told were the “correct” ways to behave (Elliott).  This experiment was shocking to many Americans, and the news made a huge deal about how easy it is for children to believe what they are told, and the implication was that society as a whole needs to be more careful about the messages that we convey to children. After this experiment was done the media was chastised for different children’s programming and movies that were aired.

            Disney was a receptor of a lot of criticism after the 1960s because of how they portray different cultures in their movies. Some of their movies that got the worst review included, The Jungle Book, Aladdin, The Lion King, Tarzan, Lady and the Tramp, and Peter Pan (Brunnette). As movie critics became more conscious of racial discrimination, they became more critical of how children’s movies portrayed ethnic backgrounds. Aladdin has features of a Caucasian man and has an American accent rather than a Persian accent from the culture he is supposed to be from. Also, the merchant in the opening song sings, “Where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face.” (LaBreauxst).  This makes Persians seem barbaric, which was very offensive to people of this origin because the practice of cutting of limbs as punishment was an ancient practice that only took place in certain regions of Persia.  In The Lion King the hyenas have an inner African accent and are the bad guys, and in Tarzan which takes place in Africa, there are no black people (Brunette). This gives off the wrong persona of people in Africa and doesn’t teach children factual information.  In The Lady and The Tramp, Asians are given a very negative persona through the Siamese cats. They have really heavy Asian accents and are sneaky and devilish (LaBreauxst).  By having such distinct accents spoken by different characters, it leads children to associate the accent with the characteristics of that character.  Then, in Peter Pan Indians are wrongfully portrayed as uncivil and savage-like (Brunette).  All of these negative stereotypes gave children a false idea of how a culture is as a whole. Many people were offended by this discrimination and believed that misrepresentations of cultures in the media perpetuate stereotypes and therefore perpetuate racism. Though Disney did not mean to show these types of stereotypes as a way to egg on racism, they became, nonetheless, chastised for their work. Since then they have made many attempts to counter the stereotypes they created.        

              In recent years Disney has made a lot of progress in their endeavor to portray different cultures in a positive light for their children viewers.  Beginning with Pocahontas which came out in 1994, 41 years after Peter Pan, Disney tried to give off a more positive persona of Native Americans (“Disney Movies Guide”). In the making of this film, Disney made a huge step in hiring a Native American actress to voice the character of Pocahontas (LaBreauxst).  Before this, characters were primarily played by people with Anglicized accents that didn’t represent the culture and race they were playing, such as in Aladdin. This started a new trend in the children’s film industry. Other shows that followed suit were The Lion King, which hired 3 African American voice actors to play Sarabi, Nala, and Shinzi. Mulan came soon after, having their lead heroine voiced by an Asian actor (LaBreauxst). Although this was a big improvement for Disney, critics were still pestering them about their lack of African-Americans playing people in their cartoons. Up to this point, African-Americans had only voiced animals in Disney movies. Besides The Lion King, they had also been featured as the annoying singing crows in Dumbo, and the obnoxious apes in The Jungle Book (LaBreauxst) .It gave off the impression that, though African-Americans still have some value, they are not equal to everyone else. They were used more for the comic relief in movies. The hero or heroine had never been an African American and people found that to be troubling when it came to how children perceived the importance and value of different cultures while watching these so called family-friendly movies.

            Disney isn’t the only company to be criticized for its portrayal of minorities in children’s films.  In 2004, DreamWorks presented the film Shark Tales.  This film at first seemed to be a very innocent film, but after further research, discrimination slowly began to present itself. The plot line follows Oscar, an underachieving worker at a Whalewash, who dreams of becoming rich and famous and who is played by the African-American Actor, Will Smith.  Unfortunately, Oscar owes a debt to his boss and rather than paying it back he gambles it away, which causes him to be physically beaten by his boss’s Jamaican henchmen. Opportunity presents itself when a shark happens to die right next to him and everyone thinks he killed it.  The whole film is then centered on his fame. He abuses his fortune and abandons his friends. Later, his lie is discovered and he is sent back to the Whalewash with nothing (Wikipedia). Many people criticized this was a negative stereotype of African Americans. Since Oscar was the only one played by a black actor, and the only one with a black accent, it gave a destructive take on African Americans being poor or residents of ghettos. It also made them seem irresponsible and uneducated. It was clear he was a “black” fish by his mannerisms and things he said. At one point in the film he said, “Don’t worry; most white fish can’t do it either.” This, by default defines him as a “black’ fish (Lugo-Lugo).  The theme that is taken from this film is to just accept where you are, because that’s where you belong.  The film gives off the impression that no matter what you do to fight the system, everyone belongs somewhere specific depending on their background. Oscar belonged in the ghetto because naturally he didn’t fit in since he was a “black” fish (Lugo-Lugo). This can be detrimental to a child’s yearn for something great, such as a better education or even how they view a race. The film gives the impression that you should just accept what you were given and not strive for more because you will fail if you try. Films like this, as well as those produced by Disney, have learned they have to be careful of what message they may be sending to children.

            Pixar Film and Walt Disney Pictures joined together in 2009 to successfully change the image of African Americans and Disney Princesses by producing the film The Princess and the Frog, which portrayed the first African-American Disney Princess.  Before Disney and Pixar officially came out with the movie they had people review the story line and critique it so that they could make sure that the movie was not crossing any lines. There was only a small amount of criticism compared to the other Disney films, about the portrayal of minorities. At first the princess was going to be named Maddie, but people complained that this was a slave’s name so they changed it to Tiana. Then there was complaint that the prince was white, to which many people countered by explaining the importance of combining cultures to show that everyone is equal (Reidemann). By having critiques review the story line before they began the making of the film, The Princess and the Frog was widely successful with all audiences.  Disney was able to show such a happy time in history, the Jazz Age, and through the depiction of this age, Disney was able to positively teach children about black culture.  Another new step Disney took through this movie was having the supporting role of the princess’s best friend played by a white character. They were able to show two different nationalities combine to become equal in each other’s eyes. The most important part of the story line is that it addresses the issue of rising above your situation, as opposed to Shark Tales, which reinforced socioeconomic boundaries. Tiana was able to fulfill her dream of owning a restaurant even though she was from African American decent. The movie proved to children that you can achieve your dreams no matter who you are (Reidemann).  It was risky to make a change to the racist perception people subconsciously make, but through the visual changes in this racist perception, children can see that it doesn’t matter what your background is, we all have equal opportunity, and no race is inferior to another.

During the court case of Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, Kenneth B. Clark conducted the first “doll test” to see how African-American children perceived themselves. His results were than compared to those of the same study done in 2009 by ABC News to see if children are being discriminated against in the same degree. At the beginning of the first study Clark said, “The specific problem of this study is an analysis of the genesis and development of racial identification as a function of ego development and self-awareness in Negro children.” In his test he got two identical dolls except for the fact that one of them was black and the other was white. He brought together 253 African American children, 134 were from segregated schools and 119 were tested from mixed schools. He picked kids that were from the ages between 3 and 7.  He brought them individually into a secluded room and had them sit at a table with the dolls in front of them. He then asked them:

1. Give rne the doll that you like to play with.

2. Give me the doll that is a nice doll.

3. Give me the doll that looks bad.

4. Give me the doll that is a nice color.

5. Give me the doll that looks like a white child.

6. Give rne the doll that looks like a colored child.

7. Give me the doll that looks like a Negro child.

8. Give me the doll that looks like you.

The results were stunning. He designed the test so that the first set of questions displayed the child’s preference, questions 4 through 7 indicated the child’s knowledge on racial differences, and the last revealed the child’s self-identification. The children responded very positively to the white doll. It was the good doll, the nice doll, and the pretty doll. The children were more attracted to the white doll in every way.  When it came to the last question, many people were appalled with the outcomes. One little girl sat there for a moment and cried when asked who she looked like and then slowly reached over to the black doll and slowly lifted it up as she kept her head low. These shocking events are what helped influenced the Brown vs Board of Education to abolish segregation (Clark).

            In 2009, ABC News wanted to see if African-American children were still feeling the same degree of discrimination that the children in Clarks study felt back in 1954.  They gathered up African-American children and asked them the same questions to see what their answers would be today.  The answers have definitely changed from all those years ago, but not as drastically as hoped. It was discovered that young girls still view the white doll as slightly better than the black doll. One girl said the white doll was prettier because it had “creamish skin.” Although the numbers have changed, 88 percent of the children identified themselves with the black doll. A new question arose in this experiment that wasn’t presented in the previous study: is this day in age obsessed with appearance? Surprisingly, every single boy that was asked what doll was prettier said that they both were equally pretty. Unfortunately, when the girls were asked this question, 47 percent of the girls said that the white doll was prettier. The boys were more confident with themselves, where the girls still wary about who they were ("Revisiting an Experiment on Race").  This case brought up many new questions regarding how the perception of race is changing. Diane Sawyer, an anchor for ABC News, questioned whether or not the perception is different for little boys and girls because African-American men are presented in the media much more than that of women. The way racism is presented in society is changing. What use to be more verbal and physical forms of prejudice are becoming more of a subconscious bias towards different groups of people. That bias in turn is affecting how children, specifically girls, perceive themselves compared to others.

Racism in children’s media has affected the view children have on different nationalities. Kenneth B. Clarks “doll test” proves that it has gotten better over the years, but there is still a lot of progress and changes that need to be made. Disney’s effort in improving their interpretation of different cultures has drastically improved the way that ethnic groups are being acknowledged. Children believe what they see and hear, as proven by Jane Elliott’s experiment on race. It is easy to quickly change a child’s opinion and so it is vitally important to teach them that everyone is equal no matter what nationality you are from.  The media has a huge part in children’s lives. It is going to be one of the main influences that teach children ways of life. Racism will never be able to disappear if drastic changes are not made to acknowledge that we are all human beings and race does not define who we are as people. Children’s media is making those drastic changes, and eventually, if those changes keep happening, the new generation of children will be able to accept everyone as person, not a race.

Today's The Day!

Today is the day. No looking back unless its to find ways to improve. History isn't full of just regrets but of things to be grateful for. Failure is the beginning of success. Life is more than living, its working and striving for a goal. Today is the beginning of a great surprise. We may not have exact control of things to come but we do have some control. We control our thoughts. Even if it takes "faking it til you make it." We control our actions. No one can tell us we cant do something except ourselves. So work. Work to be who you want to be. Work to be the person you can be proud of. But find someone to look up to. Don't cut yourself off from relationships. Whether it be with your family or friends. Its good to learn to rely on people, as long as you learn to rely on yourself as well. Find people to trust. Its ok to get hurt. Pain is OK. Take a minute to cry then move on. Mistakes are guaranteed BUT life is to short to dwell on them. Revenge is a wast of energy. Love what you do and do what you love. Try new things and don't hold yourself back. Today is the day. Its THE day to be me and i'm going to be good at it.

The Mall Kiosk

    So you are walking down the mall minding your own business, trying to find your favorite stores to get that new gorgeous top (girls) or that hunky new cologne (boys) when you spot a kiosk in the distance with its worker on the prowl... You quickly look like you are in just the most interesting conversation, or you are suddenly entranced with the store windows (even if its completely not your style.)  Don't Lie! You all know what I'm talking about! And WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE! 

    There is something to be said for being on the complete opposite side of this spectrum.  Thats right, For the last few months I have been that annoying person prowling at the kiosk, the forbidden *mall kiosk :D  And I will never will look at kiosk people with the same disgust again... Ok lets be honest I will probably still avoid them... but now I can relate to their desperate attempt to talk to people.

       Although, life at the kiosk isn't as terrible as you would think. Ive learned there are a few specific stereotypes to look for in people that come to the mall. One of the rules we live by is remembering peoples faces so we don't try and give our shpeal multiple times to the same person. From that I have began to recognize those stereotypes. I have become familiar with who is a good person to talk to and who to avoid. So for any of you that would like to be let in on the little secret of how to get kiosk people to avoid you become one of these people:

The Mall Walkers- Def: people, usually old, that come to the mall at the same time every week to exercise by taking many laps around the perimeter.  

You think I'm joking, but most the traffic we get at the Provo Towne Center is the Mall Walkers. One couple in particular stands out to me because they always wear matching camouflage outfits. PEOPLE! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING! They have violated so many fashion codes its ridiculous! To all you youngins out there: ***When you get married don't even think about wearing matching outfits! That is just a joke waiting to happen.**** Anyway, Mall Walkers have become sort of a joke in the mall. I learned quickly how to spot them and basically its a waste of time to talk to them because they usually don't even have their wallets, plus I see them pretty much everyday. Now I just wave and smile as they pass.

The Quarter Lady-  This lady is so funny! There is no other category to put her under so I just had to give her, her very own.  She comes at least twice a week every week to all of the vending machines to check for any loose change someone might have forgotten to pick up.  She always has a black sweater, black pants, black shoes, and a pink shirt on, although, one time she came in a different colored shirt... It was strange... I often wonder how much money she makes by doing that, but it would be almost impossible to ask her because she avoids all social contact with anyone.  Ive made it my goal to get her to talk to me, so every time she comes in I make a point of saying hello. Finally, after a month she smiled at me! :)  haha And now that Dish is including a channel to watch BYU Sports, she comes up to me and tells me to watch out cuz she is going to steal our sign advertising it... I think that means she is a BYU fan?... or just likes to collect trash... Either way I succeeded in my goal.  

The Little Adults- Ok so they aren't really Adults. I know that we have all been here at some point in our lives. This would be what I call the little children that walk around like they own the place. I guess I remember being at this point in my life where you feel so cool because your parents are letting you walk around by yourself in a public place, but really they are so obnoxious. I think they think they noisier and stupider they are they cooler they wil be. I better stop now or I feel like I could go on for too long about them. I feel that we have all been there though and can relate with what I'm Saying.  


The Mothers: I have learned that usually when approaching a mother I have to be wary, especially if they just got done yelling at their kids, because they seem to be very low on patience.  Ive also discovered that mothers see that we have movies playing on the kiosk and find it very easy to make their kids sit still and by default make me watch them why they go shopping. It happens with no warning. All of a sudden their kids are there and the parents are gone.  GOSH! The least they could do is pay me to babysit.  


The Single-Guys- From my experience the majority of these people just want a cuddle buddy rather than a new TV provider.  I usually start out the sale really strong and feel like I am about to get a sale, when WHAM! They give you an ultimatum. "You go on a date with me, and I will consider signing an TV agreement with you..." talk about a downer! It happens way more frequently then you would think, Seriously! Nough said.


The Old-Guys-  These guys are my favorite! They are so sweet most the time and almost always stop to talk to me for a few minutes.  Half the time I cant understand them though so I just smile and Nod as they tell me about their life. I met one guy that just finished building a light house, another that is a pilot in Alaska, and one that just got out of jail... don't ask me what for I was scared to ask...  I feel like these guys are usually just lonely though and need someone to talk to. I also get a few winks here and there:)


So there are a lot more stereotypes, but those ones are my favorite.  The Mall really is just like one big community. I know all of the other kiosk people and even have made friends with the Mall Cops and Custodians. One Custodian is here from Mexico and is so nice! He is working really hard to learn in English and always makes it a point to stop by and see how my day is going. He is helping me with Spanish and I get to help him practice English.  The T-Mobile guys are great! Although, they are super picky on what shows I play. But lets be honest, I don't think I can Watch Iron Man 2 or Dark Knight ever again either... The first 70 times in a row were enough!  I think I will miss the T-mobile guys the most after I leave (only 2 more days...)  They are so funny! and are just so entertaining... Sorry Tanner I promise I will stop talking to them so that they can work... 
    My Fellow Co-workers are great! Lisa who is always mistaken as Mexican :) even though she is like full Polynesian! haha (her reaction is the best when people ask her if she speaks Spanish)  Then Ian who is as white as white can be, but actually does speak Spanish! I will never stop laughing about the time he went up to a Spanish looking couple and started speaking Spanish only to have the guy look at him and be like "Dude I speak English."  And of course Katy! The awesome manager:) She has this way of getting people to just give her free stuff whether its a phone battery, those expensive energy bracelets, and even a Ghost Armor phone cover. WHAT IN THE WORLD! Teach me your ways!  I am definitely going to miss my Mall Kiosk....


Lets just take a moment of silence as we say goodbye to our spot at the Provo Towne Center... 

The Day I almost Went To Hollywood...

    About 2 weeks ago I was sitting at the Dishone Satellite Kiosk where I work, praying that someone would walk by so that I could give them my shpeal about how they should switch service providers. During this time I get a phone call from this unknown number that has a strange area code. Of course my curiosity spikes and I answer the phone:

"Is Aubree There?"
"This is She...."
"Hi Aubree, My name is Anna Marie from Hollywood. I don't know if you remember, but last year at Woods Cross you went to a career fair. Well one of my agents happened to be there and noticed you and thought you had this special look that we have been searching for. She brought me back your information and I have been saving it for the next time I come to Salt Lake so that I can audition you."
"Wait what?! Haha Seriously?"
"Haha yes! What are you more interested in Modeling or Acting?
"Honestly I have no idea. I have only had minimal experience in both areas. I did High School plays and was on a Fashion Team modeling wedding dresses, but that where my experience stops."
"That is not a problem! I will train you for both and then see what you like.  Just to give you an idea of some things I have done, I have gotten 7 girls onto America's Next Top Model. I have worked with movies such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, all the Spiderman Movies, Catch Me If You Can, ect. as well as TV shows such as CSI, Prison Break, Hannah Montana, and Good Luck Charlie.
 "Oh my GOSH!" 

.....ok so the conversation went on longer than this, but this is just the overview. I spent a majority of the time asking her questions and trying to figure out if it was a prank or a scam.  As you can imagine I was pretty much jumping up and down while trying to keep my voice cool and collected. My neighbors at the T-Mobile booth gave me some strange looks, but honestly I did not care! I mean how many times in your life do you get a call from Hollywood people because they want an audition with you? WITH ME!
      Well after that I decided I needed to get in shape and so I hurried to call up different people to give me some advice. (you can read more about this part of the story in my other entry entitled "Hunger and Pain.")  Well my Audition has come and gone and It was probably one of the most unique experiences of my life.
      I had to leave Provo around 730 in order to get to the Hilton in Salt Lake on time. I met my dad at our home in Bountiful and we took off. When we got to the Hilton we discovered Anna expounded her story about what we should expect. Rather than meeting with her individually there were about 20 other people aged 11 to 22. The average age was probably 14-16. Its probably a bad thing that me and my dad went together because the moment we approached the sign in table we started eying each other trying not to laugh.    There was one girl in these cat eye glasses that was talking to her dad in this extraordinarily fake English Accent.  I swear my dad was going to bust a gut! Oh the things I drag my parents into.
    Well they showed us a promotional video of all there success stories (of course my dad joked through the whole thing as I gave him the evil eye)  and then they brought all the contestants...Is that even the right word?... well they brought everyone auditioning to the back of the room where they had us practicing doing a slate and a goldfish commercial... you know, "I just love Pepperidge Farm Goldfish! Its the snack that smiles back :D" It was hilarious!! I was trying so hard not to laugh.  My dad made friends with some of the parents which is good because we ended up being there like 2 hours over what we expected.  The other people that were auditioning felt just as out of place as me. One girl got picked up at Walmart by an agent! And all of us were just as surprised to be there.
     After we perfected and performed our slate and commercial for everyone we had to move on to runway walking.  I think the guys definitely had the best time with this;) haha they were all so shy and embarrassed! First we had to do the basic "T" turn. This is just when you walk to the end make your feet into a T and then ball change so you can walk back down to the start.  Apparently I had natural Poise! haha then we had to do a walking backwards move that allows you to flirt with the audience longer. OH MY!! haha I just had to give props to my dad though. I really appreciated those cat call he sent me when it was my turn on the platform.  ****Word of advice to all you future models: Make sure you keep your hand on the smalled part of your waist so you can accentuate your body****  The lady that was teaching us seriously had on 7 inch platform heels! Do not even ask me how she walked.
    I really loved getting to know all the other people. They were so fun! and I really hope they got a chance to move on, but I never did get to talk to them again once they called my name to go talk to one of the managers.
    I got the pleasure of meeting with a guy named Marvin or something. He was nice! apparently he has the ability to completely read people and know who they are and what they are like within only 2 min of talking to them. From looking at me he could tell I had a fun quality about me that is determined and dedicated. My dad would tell him something about me and he would be like, "ya i can tell.." and then nod his head in this very concentrated profound way. I think he is psychic... lets be honest.  I stood up and did my slate and commercial for him and he LOVED my animated facial expressions. He told me that he is very picky about who he brings onto work with and after saying that he would sign me on immediately for the acting/ commercial program. I would also be a great magazine/ print model, but in order to do runway i'd have to grow another 7 or so inches! I guess I better get on that;)  He told me he loves the fact that I am in school and that says a lot about my dedication and ability to work hard.
   Well all this sounded great until he informed me I would have to pay 2000 dollars to take these classes every other Saturday in Salt Lake. But don't worry he offered me a 400 dollar scholarship... Thanks that will help a lot...  Needless to say I ended up turning it down. It was a sad moment, but I guess I will find someway to survive.

So my fellow audience members: you almost knew someone famous... and so ended my almost Hollywood Experience :D

Aotearoa: BYU Lu'au 2011

Amanda, Me, and Sarah. 

Ariel and me with our Moko

Tiana, Marlee, Me

Our Attempt to do the Haka Face

Seriously people, this was the coolest experience of my life. There is something about any Polynesian Culture that is just so intriguing. I had the opportunity to be apart of the BYU Lu'au this year. I signed up to do dances from the New Zealand (Maori) culture. I went to practice every Saturday from 10 to 12 and met the funnest people. I danced the taiaha, which is a long stick that I basically weave around my arms. It looks really cool! Unfortunately, I am obviously not Polynesian, so it was an interesting experience to see how minorities feel.  

Lionel, our boss man, was great! He learned everyones name so quickly and i'm not so sure if that was a good thing in my case because It was easier for him to get mad at me when I messed up, which was no uncommon in the least bit.  

Basically I am a Maori Warrior now. The dances that New Zealand does, especially with the Taiaha, are based on war dances the tribes use to do.  I loved getting the Moko on my face. It made everyone look so fierce, especially the guys. But lets be honest they looked pretty hot with all that war paint on.  

So the most common comment I got from people was the fact that my shoulders were showing. I got the whole, "don't you go to BYU?"  "Modest is hottest don't you know."  "I thought you were better than that..."  PEOPLE COME ON! We are representing a culture. Traditional dress is part of that culture and the whole point of the Lu'au is to honor those cultures.  Yes I go to BYU, Yes Ive heard modest is Hottest, and by goly Its not like Im going to wear that dress around everyday!  So thank you people for your concern:)  

Now on a lighter note... BOY oh Boy is it hard to get tube tops to stay up! I had to literally tape my strapless bra to my skin and then tab the dress to the bra and my skin in order to keep that thing up. not to mention then tying hay stuff around the top of it.  My favorite part of the whole get up was most definitely my one feather earing, although a lot of people asked if I was dressing up as a Native American.

While wearing the costume I went to get subway before we were going to go on and perform. Me and Ariel were standing there in line and this guy kept looking back at us. Finally he asked if we were performing for something or just normally dressed like that. Haha SERIOUSLY! haha I just looked at him and said, "Of course I normally wear this! Don't you? I mean its not like we are in the Cougar Eat at BYU or anything:)"  Of all the questions! haha just kidding he was really nice, although I was slightly embarrassed to be walking around in that garb.  

Now onto the HAKA! Can I just heave a little sigh right now! *************** I could watch men do that all day! There is nothing so studly as a man doing the Haka. Talk about scaring away the enemy.  The whole stage shook as they screamed and stomped on the floor. Their faces were terrifying as they stuck their tongues out and their eyes bulged.  That was about the time that the song, "im going to marry that man someday" started playing in my head. The fun thing about the Maori culture is one minute you'll have something like the Haka going on and then they immediately start singing this soft joyous song. Its so unexpected and made the whole audience laugh.

I cant think of much more to say on the topic other than it was the BOMB.COM.  You all missed out if you didn't see it!  

This is Aubree Signing out:) HAI!

Hunger and Pain

Who ever said "Pain is Beauty" was right on! There is something I have learned the last week: Hamburgers are SO GOOD! Yes that is right, out of everything I could miss eating that would be it. If you have never had a Creamery on 9th Hamburger you have never lived;)  But lets be honest, Cheeseburgers are good too.
  Things I have discovered I cant stand:
1) plain old Oatmeal... Ok people Brown Sugar was invented for a reason!
2).....
 Im trying to think of other things I have not liked, but nothing can top the oatmeal... Even bananas are better! Which is saying something coming from me.

I have also learned that I really like exercising. Although, I have never been in more pain in my life. The only thing I can say is if having a baby is going to be a piece of cake.  I was literally walking like a pregnant lady all over campus and got the strangest looks from people.
I am forever grateful for Scott Wahrer for helping me stay tough and tip toe on the borderline of suicide as I try to get in shape, and my Aunt Tressa for giving me some nice tips of different exercises to do whenever I am just sitting or standing there.  Emily and Kristalyn You rock!! Thanks for running with me:) And of course I cant forget my roommates who are great with helping me watch what I eat!
I CAN DO THIS!!

Oh I thought of something else I don't like- Plain Tuna.  I never realized how important mayonnaise and pickles were until I couldn't have them.