Coping With Death

Note: This is in some ways a follow-up to my previous blog post, False Portrayals, and it might be helpful to read it, although it is not necessary.

This week on The Bachelorette the producers were faced with a really tough decision. One of the contestants, Eric Hill, died earlier this year in a freak para-gliding accident. He had already been kicked off the show, but he did go far into the show, thus they have a lot of footage of him on the dates. According to him his occupation was an explorer, and his goal was to go to every single country in 1200 days.

Although this is such a sad story and the way he died was very tragic, the producers have to deal with this in a different way. Do they show the footage of him, even though everyone knows that the person they are watching on TV is actually dead, or do they completely cut him from the show? I don't know what I would do in this situation. On the one hand, they can't completely cut him from the show because that could be viewed as rude, since he was a part of the show and it would feel incomplete without him. However, on the other hand, if they show his scenes in their entirety it could be viewed as insensitive, because all his friends and family have to cope with his death again and it would almost feel like his is living.


When he died, many people expressed their sadness, but there was an overwhelming amount of people who first thought, What are they going to do on the show? I think that this whole story is a good example of how jobs or other things, including media, can consume people's lives. There were so many people that didn't even think about how sad the situation once, but rather they thought about how it would affect their viewing experience. People in America go-go-go, and often their lives revolve around their work, while they don't stop and take moments to appreciate life and grieve when sad things happen. They have too much on their mind and are often concerned about the wrong things.

False Portrayals

Last Monday, I, along with many other excited viewers tuned into the season premiere of the Bachelorette. I am a sucker for reality television, so obviously I watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette. I don't believe it really works, and don't take it seriously whatsoever, but I still love to watch it. All the made-up drama can be really amusing. And clearly a lot of other people find it amusing as well. 7.17 million people watched the premiere this week.

Many people are completely against all reality television, saying it is trash and not at all real. I definitely agree that it isn't real and can see where they are coming from. It is not normal at all for people to fall in love in two months, while there are cameras filming their every move and every word. In no way is that like real life. Reality TV has become more and more prominent in our society in recent years, with shows ranging from The Kardashians to The Real Housewives, to name a few.

I think with these shows becoming more and more popular it shows a common theme. In all these shows the producers are using the people/families for entertainment. It is so often that these producers create fake drama within the show to generate viewers and to make their show interesting, which also gives people a wrong idea of what the person is like in real life. America often portrays these celebrities (if we can call them that, considering they often have no talent) as completely different people on reality shows, giving a false impression of them to the fans. This then makes the viewers believe that life is completely different than it actually is. It is next to impossible to fall in love in two months, ON TV. People shouldn't believe that it is.

Finishing What You Start

Last week the annual NFL Draft occurred. Every year football players enter the draft, hoping a professional team will decide to draft them. It is the way into the National Football League for all these athletes. My family was watching it on ESPN and I was struck by the age of some of the people drafted. Many of them had opted out of finishing their college careers. This is not just for the NFL though. Many baseball players as well as basketball players leave college early or skip college altogether in order to enter the pros. For example, basketball star Lebron James skipped college and was drafted right out of high school.

I find this very interesting. I mean, these kids are getting a college education (a lot of time for free), and will get a diploma which can help them out a lot later on in life. However, by leaving college you won't get a diploma. According to an article, there are many reasons for leaving early. Some of those include entering the pros before you get injured, almost as a security blanket. That way you will know you made it and won't have to worry about getting hurt.

However, this article also says that one of the reasons student-athletes should stay in college is because it "teaches maturity". I could not believe this to be more true. I think oftentimes in many realms, not just sports, Americans look ahead to the next thing and the greater thing, often without finishing what they started. This is just one example of that. These student-athletes are looking to the future (and there is nothing wrong with that), but oftentimes they jump ahead without finishing what they started, meaning school. People need to learn to reach the end or reach their primary goals, but often this does not happen.

Sleepless Nights

Junior theme: check. I have turned in my essay and I can already feel a huge weight lifted off me. My stress level has seriously declined, considering I lived and breathed that essay for the past couple of weeks. However, I know soon my stress will increase as I will have more projects or tests in other classes. This whole ordeal has got me thinking about stress levels, especially in teenagers, and the effects of stress.

I did some research, and according to a survey done, teenagers have stress levels during the school year that compare of equal that of adults. Adults have responsibilities such as providing for their families, working, and other things, while teenagers have school. If you think about it, teenagers are put under so much stress by the amount of homework they have, all the tests and essays, while at the same time being encouraged to join clubs or sports. It is almost too much for a 16 year old to handle. According to WebMD, "[teenagers] don't sleep as well, which feeds back into increasing their stress". Speaking from experience, as I am a teenager, I can verify this information. Personally I get probably an average of 6-7 hours of sleep a night, and am up very late doing work because I had obligations after school, such as sports. 

I think sleep is a big contributor to stress. I would be much more attentive and alert throughout the day, and I would be able to pay attention to what I was learning, instead of feeling like I am sleep-walking through the day. I think this whole idea of working as many hours a day as you can is a common American theme. It is a common belief that in order to get ahead you have to put in more work. This is true, but oftentimes people seem to take that idea to an extreme and work late into the night while thinking sleep is unnecessary. This then stresses them out more and tires them, which could ultimately lead to a weaker performance. I think the idea of constantly working and constantly moving is extremely prevalent in society today, but it definitely has its consequences, including a huge rise in stress levels.