During my senior year in high school, I volunteered at a old folks day care. They had a music therapy session every other week and I had the opportunity to join those sessions.
An elder playing an ukulele. Helps him regain some of his memory because he used to play the ukulele when he was younger.
These women are playing instruments while marching in place. It helps improve their range of motion.
These women are singing a song. Signing helps improve breathing.
How many of you love to listen to music? We use music as a way to express our emotions. Take Taylor Swift for example. She loves to write her songs about her ex-boyfriends. It’s how she likes to express herself and show others how she is feeling. Musicians are able to express themselves in a similar way, but instead of using lyrics, they use their instruments to show how they feel. They can choose the speed at which they play. If they play a fast paced beat, it may indicate that they are excited, happy, or even angry. If they play a slow paced beat, it may mean that they are sad, upset, or depressed. Music can be used in different ways other than to express our feelings. Music can be used to improve our overall well-being in the form of music therapy. I know a lot of you don’t know what music therapy is or even heard of it and what is done in these therapy sessions, but most of you kind of experienced it without even seeing a music therapist. Have you ever come home from a stressful day and just listened to music to help your body relax? Well, that’s part of what music therapy does. Classical music is especially helpful in relaxing the body. Your heart rate can synchronize to the beat of the song, slow the heart rate, and relax the body in this way.
Listening to music is one activity done in music therapy sessions, but there are more things that are done. Singing is an activity that is done in a session and can help improve an individual’s speech and improve breathing. Playing instruments can help people who can’t really move their arms. Getting movement in their body parts can improve their range of motion. Another activity that benefits individuals who have Alzheimer’s is listening to music. By listening to music, they can connect the song to a time in their past like a song that was played at their wedding reception. Clients can also write their own lyrics to help express what they are feeling like Taylor Swift. Every time Taylor goes through a break up, she writes a song about it. It helps her get her negative feelings out there and helps her cope with the situation better.
There are different types of music that can be used in music therapy sessions, but music cannot be prescribed because the effects of music can vary from person to person. Some effects of upbeat music can include increased brain waves, better concentration, alertness, and better coordination. This type of music can help elders because most of them are usually tired or sleepy. Some effects of low tempo music are slowing the heart beat and relaxing the body. This is helpful with clients who get agitated, restless, or irritated.
Music therapy is commonly used in child and adolescent psychiatry, with patients who have cancer, brain injuries, or are disabled or elderly. Music therapy is considered an alternative treatment, but when paired with conventional medicine, it can improve health conditions by utilizing different techniques and treatments.
There are different types of sources that can be used when conducting research: primary sources, secondary sources, and tertiary sources. Primary sources are original sources. Primary sources include surveys, interviews, field work, poems, diaries, autobiographies, etc. They can also be research results gathered from doing an experiment and published as journal articles. While primary sources are original sources, secondary sources are sources that describe, analyze, or interpret primary sources. Secondary sources include dictionaries, textbooks, biographies, and books and articles that talk about researches work. The last type of source is a tertiary source which provides overall information of topics. Some examples of tertiary sources are abstracts, bibliographies, directories, manuals, guidebooks, etc.
All three sources can be used when creating a research paper, but for my first in this research paper I’m going to start by first finding primary sources. The type of primary sources I would like to use in my research is field work/job shadow, interviews, and journal articles. My research topic is whether music therapy is able to treat various types of health conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and autism. If I am able to job shadow a music therapist, I can see first-hand what a music therapy session looks like and what type of things are done. For the interviews, I can interview the music therapist that works with the clients. Because the music therapist works with the clients, they are able to see the changes and progress that the clients have made since first working with them. The journal articles will provide me with scientific information like what music does for the brain and inform me about the types of research that was done on health and music therapy.
My plan for this essay was to combine all my previous consumer blog posts to create my “final” essay. I organized my essay so that I had an introduction with a thesis, body paragraphs to support my thesis, and a conclusion to sum everything up. Since this essay was about consuming, I figured it would make sense to use my consumer blog posts to help me compose this essay. It would have been easier to copy and paste exactly what I had, but I did not do that. I only took a few parts from my blog posts and edited it so that it had some sort of flow to it. Copying what I had word for word on my blog posts would have made my essay hard to read because there wouldn’t have been any transitions to my next support. Some of the things that were brought up about my paper was my introduction, the flow of my essay, and suggestions of how to improve the images I used. My next steps to developing my essay is to make a better, more interesting introduction, combine sentences, and do what my fellow peers suggested I do with my photos. Creating an interesting introduction will make other people want to keep reading my essay because I was told that my introduction right now doesn’t make people want to keep reading. Combining my sentences will make my essay easier to read because right now, it’s choppy and hard to read. Editing the photos I used for this essay will tie in with the rest of my essay. My consumer essay does need work done to it. I plan on bringing my essay in to my English 102 class so my facilitator and another student can help me improve my essay more and give me tips.
Going into peer review, I knew that my essay was not a very good one. I know that my first drafts are usually hard to read because my sentences don’t really flow. I knew that there were other things about my paper that could be improved. I just didn’t know what needed to be improved besides the flow of my essay. Luckily, my classmates were there to tell me what I could do better. They told me that I should make a better introduction. One that makes them want to continue reading my essay. They found that Hawaii is a part of my identity. They figured since I talked about saving money to go home, that I should just focus on Hawaii a little bit more and say why I want to go back. My peer review group told me that they liked the little comic I made for my photo essay, but it could be improved by adding more pictures. I already know what pictures to add. Somewhere in my comic I can draw a picture of me thinking about wanting to go home for spring break, but not having enough money. After that picture, I can put the picture of me seeing all the things I don’t use and coming up with the idea to have a yard sale. For the very last picture, I’m going to draw a picture of me with all the money I made from the yard sale and me going on a plane to Hawaii. I only added two photos from my photo essay, but I think I should add the whole photo essay so people get the whole picture.
To do list:
A consumer is a buyer of goods or services. Everyone is a consumer. People consume things on a daily basis. There are different types of consumers. There are consumers who buy more than they need and other consumers who buy only what they need. In today’s society, many people consume more than they should. There are people who buy too much food and end up throwing it out because they did not eat it before it got bad. There are people who buy too much clothes that all of it does not fit in their closet. There are people who have too much electronics that they practically stop living when they have to go a day without their phone. How does one know if they are consuming too much? How do they know if they truly need to buy something? I know I am consuming too much when I start running out of space to put my things. Sometimes I buy things I think I need, but in reality, I really do not need it. I consider myself to be the type of consumer who buys things they do not need everything they buy. I have extra things that I can definitely live without but are nice to have. The commercials and advertisements that I see on the television and seeing people with those items makes me want to own it too.
When I first moved into the dorms here at Washington State, I only brought the things I needed from home. I moved in with a medium rolling bag, a duffle bag, and a single box. It had all the clothes I usually wear, clothes hangers, blankets, bed covers, a table lamp, and basic toiletries. Over time, I began accumulating things I do not need. Because I am a college student, I am supposed to be saving every penny I can. I pretty much did the opposite of that. I went a little bit crazy with the online shopping. I did not even need majority of the things I bought. Most of the things I did buy are just lying around now. I do not have any use for the items that I bought. If I could go back to first semester, I would. I would not allow myself to buy all the things that I purchased. I could have easily saved myself around $600-700. I regret spending so much on the things I do not use. I wanted to go home and surprise my other half during spring break, but I cannot do that because I do not have enough money. It was because of careless spending that I lost a trip to Hawaii. This habit of buying things online had to be stopped. Not just because I do not use a lot of the things I buy, but also because my parents would be really mad if they knew about my spending sprees. This semester I am going change as a consumer. I will save as much money as I can. I will not buy things that I do not need. If I do need to buy something, I will try to find it at a cheaper price. If it is something that can be borrowed, I will borrow the item free of any cost. After all, it is access that really matters.
Like I said, I do not need everything I have in my room. Everyone has at least one thing in their room that they do not need. I found three things that I do not use or do not need anymore and I could probably find a lot more. The first item I have is a purse. I feel bad that I bought it because I do not use it. That is thirty dollars I could have saved to buy something I did need. The second items are my history books from last semester. It was required from my professor to have those books. Someone may think that since I bought the books, I would have at least read them or looked through them. Truth is, I have not read these books and I do not plan on reading them. The last items are my jewelry. Besides the earrings I always have on, I do not use jewelry. If I knew I do not use jewelry, why did I even buy them? I just like to buy stuff regardless of whether I need them or not.
Thinking about my room back home, I have many things I do not need. Some of the things I have include a brand new skateboard, clothes I will probably never wear again, a tiny chair I cannot sit on, and a paper rocket I just cannot bring myself to throw away. Because I have all this stuff, I do not have as much room as I would like. If I could, I would have a yard sale to get rid of all the things I do not need or use. I would earn money and get more space in my room. Yard sales are great for both the host and buyers. The host practically has money lying around. They just need to give it up so they can get it. People who stop by and look around might find something they need or want for a cheaper price than what store sells them for. People who get their things at yard sales save a lot of money. I remember helping out with a garage sale. There was a black rolling chair still in good condition. The asking price was fifteen dollars. Well, this woman came to the garage sale and left with the chair, but she did not buy it for fifteen dollars. She bought it for five dollars. That woman saved herself ten dollars that day. That is not bad at all.
Commercials, advertisements, and people who have the product featured on commercials and advertisements influence me to buy something. Commercials and advertisements are used to catch an audience’s eye. It says what a company is selling along with a list of benefits an individual can earn from the product. People who own the product are also advertising. If they have it, it must be good, right? I have seen commercials of the iPad and I have seen many people with the iPad. Before coming to college, I did not own an iPad. But because I saw so many people with it here, I decided to buy one of my own. Commercials have a way of persuading people to buy their product. One company that does a good job of getting people to buy their products is Maybelline. In their mascara commercials they feature a model wearing their mascara. In their commercial with Christy Turlington, the camera zooms in on her eye lashes. It is clear that her eye lashes are longer and more defined, and her body language says that if you use this mascara, you will feel sexy. All women want to feel sexy, and by buying their mascara they can achieve exactly that. The stores at the mall also have a way of getting people to buy their clothes. This technique is called putting up a sale sign on their window. Whenever I see a store having a sale, I have to go in and look around. I usually come out of the store with new clothes. I guess I like the idea of saving money while spending money.
I need to change as a consumer. I buy things I do not need. That will all change this semester and the days that follow. I will be a different consumer who will only buy things I need. I realized that just because I see a sale going on in my favorite store does not mean I have to go in a buy something and just because someone has something I do not have does not mean I have to go out and get one too. I will think twice and maybe three times before I spend my money on anything I may not need. By doing so, I will save a lot of money and maybe get a trip back home. I think I will deserve it after holding off from spending.
Everyone has at least one thing in their room that they do not need. I found three things that I do not use or do not need anymore. The first item I have is a purse. I bought this purse during my first semester here at Washington State. I never used this bag. That’s thirty dollars down the drain. The second items are my history books from last semester. I have not read these books and I don’t plan on reading them. The last item is some of my jewelry. Besides the earrings I always have on, I do not use jewelry. If I don’t use these things anymore, why do I still have them? I just don’t know who to give it to or where to put it.
If I could, I would have a yard sale to get rid of these three things. I would earn money and get more space in my room. I think yard sales are great because people who stop by might find something they need or want for a cheaper price than what store sells them for. People who get their things at yard sales save a lot of money. I remember helping out with a garage sale. There was a black rolling chair still in good condition. The asking price was fifteen dollars. Well, this woman came to the garage sale and left with the chair, but she didn’t buy it for fifteen dollars. She bought it for five dollars. That woman saved herself ten dollars that day. Not bad.
I made a short comic reenacting what would happen if I had a yard sale. I start off with three items I don’t need anymore. I realize that I can host a yard sale to get rid of my things. I put up a sign that lets people know that I am having a yard sale. Shortly after, I get my first customer wanting to buy my jewelry. My second customer is a college student looking for history 105 books. My last customer buys the purse I never used. At the end of my yard sale, I earned a decent amount of money and have more space around my room. The people I sold my things to are enjoying it. Turns out the woman I sold my jewelry to had a party to attend and is receiving many compliments on her new jewelry. The kid I sold my history books to is getting good grades in history because of his resources. The woman I sold my purse to gave it to her teenage daughter. Her daughter showed off her new purse and her friends are all jealous about it. If I had a yard sale, I could earn money and share what I don’t need with people who might want it.
The first thing that came to my mind when I read the title of Lars Eighner’s article was “there’s such thing as dumpster diving?” I have heard about trash digging, but not dumpster diving. I guess the difference between the two terms is that in dumpster diving, a person uses their entire body to scavenge for items. In trash digging, a person only uses their hands. I will admit. I have dug through trash before. We all have. In these times I have dug through trash, I might have thrown something away that I could still use. Like a scrap of paper that could be used as something to write reminders on or a piece of paper that has not been written on and I could use to work out algebra equations on. I do not think I have ever dug through trash to find food. I think everyone here can agree that getting food from the trash is disgusting. Eighner was a homeless man living off of things he found in dumpsters including foods, drinks, blankets, etc. He found a lot of food that people threw out but were still edible. While reading this article I realized that I do not ever want to go through what he went through. I do not want to get to a point in my life where the only source of food is out of a dumpster. This article made me realize that there are a lot of people just like Eighner who do not have a place to call home and who do not have as much as I do.
While Lars Eighner lived his life on the streets and barely had anything to call his own, Tammy Strobel had way more than she needed. She had an apartment, two cars, and lots of dishes. She realized that she and her husband had too much stuff, so they began donating their belongings to a charity where it would be put to good use. It took months, but they finally got rid of everything that was just lying around the house. They now have one hundred personal items. They even gave up their two bedroom apartment and both cars. I have a lot of clothes back home, so I like to clean my things out every now and then. During winter break I cleaned out all my drawers and my closet, and asked myself “when was the last time I wore this?” If the answer was “a long time ago”, I put it in a pile of giveaway clothes. If the answer was “not too long ago”, it went back into my closet. After cleaning everything out, I saw how many clothes do not get worn. I wish I could give/throw away everything I do not use anymore, but sometimes I come across things that I think I will use again. Those things are the ones I have not used in years.
Photo Credit: Fornabaio, Joe. 2007. New York TimesWeb. 30 Jan 2013.
