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New Year’s ReSolvelutions Jazmin Tillman
Sierra Stokes
T jfestyjb Writer
When the announcement was made that
Heidi Klum and Seal were getting divorced
so many people were shocked by the news.
Klum and Seal seemed as though they were
happily married to outsiders looking in. Little
did the world know, this power couple was
seeing a decline in their marriage like many
more couples today.
Enrichment journal gives the statistic that
the divorce rate in America for first marriages
is a high 41%. This number is at an all-time
high in comparison to previous years. There
was once a time when divorce was unheard
of amongst people. No matter what issues a
couple was given, they were to stick together.
If a man were to decide to divorce his wife,
especially if they shared children, he was seen
as less of a man. If a woman were to divorce
her husband, which was rare, she better not
ever think about remarrying.
Jennifer Lopez, wed and divorce multiple
times. Upon getting a divorce, these celeb
rities even go as far as to flaunt their new
flames alhover Hollywood. As if to make the
media forget they are going through divorce
settlements that will rob them of half their
riches.
Closer to home, the Current Population
Survey (CPS) reports that for the past several
years about 70% of black women are unmar
ried. On the other hand, the US Census
reported that other racial groups have a dra
matically lower unmarried number, especially
Latina women with only 32%.
90 year old Lillian Allen sat down to speak
with me about what marriage meant when
she was growing up. Marrying at the young
age of 18, Allen knew that this was the man
she would be with for the rest of her years.
“In my day, divorce was a scandalous word
that was not to be mentioned. When we ex
changed the words ‘I Do,’ we knew that meant
that we were stuck to each other no matter
what. This is not to say marriage was easy,
but you made it work,” said the Windsor, NC
native.
Women are more progressive than ever and
no longer have to depend on men for benefits,
making women far more independent. With
songs praising a woman that has her own,
such as Ne-Yo’s “Miss Independent,” Destiny’s
Childs “Independent Women” and Drake’s
“Fancy,” you have to admit it sounds good.
Career minded women are emerging all over.
This is especially true amongst black women.
With the lack of marriages amongst black
women, this has to lead one to know where
the divorce rate stands.
“I enjoy the thought of paying for what
ever I want with my own money. Therefore, I
know no one can ever take it from me,” said
Defense Attorney Tonza Ruffin.
Ruffin, like many more women of color, are
climbing the career ladder and enjoying the
benefits.
With this shift in mentality, it makes me
wonder what the love life of America, es
pecially black women, will look life in the
future. Will divorce rates and unwed numbers
continue to soar, or will relationships go back
to the olden days? Only time will tell.
your goals should mean something to you personally. Theselts goals
should be constructed for your betterment. Feeling guilty or over
working yourself is not going to help you feel optimistic about the
new year. It’s the small steps that actually help you get to where you
want to be. If you want to eat healthier, maybe you should put in
your resolution, “Stop drinking soda.” Or, if you want to make bet
ter grades maybe you should start off by studying for a couple more
hours than you did last year.
Whatever it may be that you want to improve, the main point is
to be realistic and fair with your goals. Taking minor steps towards
improving yourself will be more effective than beating yourselfover-
working yourself just to give up after the first week. The key idea to
remember is that hard work must also be rewarded. Even though you
couldn’t meet all of your goals, pat yourself on the back for anything
that you did right and move on to doing better and being betters-
lightly bigger, and much better things.
Did you make your New Year’s resolution yet? Maybe not. You may
not be the type to who constructs these intricate, lofty New Year’s
Resolutions every year. But still, there are many who look forward to
creating a new goal for themselves ten seconds before the ball drops.
Everyone knows what happens when you make an unrealistic New
Year’s Resolution. More than likely, you don’t reach all your goals,
and before you know it, it’s December again and you’re now feeling
like you could have done more.
A main reason why New Year’s Resolutions are often flukes is be
cause they are constructed out of guilt from the last year’s unfulfilled
goals. This approach to making a New Year’s Resolution is all wrong.
I can recall an old New Year’s Resolution that I made for myself.
1. Stop eating meat
2. Take better care of my dog
3. Clean the whole house every Friday
4. Give more compliments
5. Get a job
6. Make all As in school
7. Join five more clubs
8. Work out six days a week, for four hours a day
9. Get five scholarships
10. Read one novel every week
Do you see where this goes wrong? I’ve constructed a long list of
tasks out of guilt from the last year’s unresolved goals.
So then, what is a good resolution? A good resolution is a resolution
that is not done out of guilt or regret. Your resolution should not
be a list of chores or tasks. It should not look like you are punishing
yourself.
The whole point of a resolution is to make goals for your own
improvement and more importantly, your own happiness. Also,
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B>ewAi^e! Of the Tampon?
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Unfortunately, recalls are fairly common
in the day and age of mass production. It is
not an obscure ideal for meat, spinach and
other like items to be recalled due to some
type of cross contamination of bacteria or
fungi. Recently however, something un
expected had to be taken off the shelves in
lie. And no, it’s not another E-Coli
Nov. 9 2011 Kimberly Clark, the
corporate giant that is responsible for pro
ducing many hygienic products like Kleenex
and Scott toilet tissue; released a public
statement announcing the recall of 1,400
Kotex Natural Balance Security Unscented
Tampons, the “regular” absorbency kind.
The recall of the Kotex product was cited to
have been manufactured with a material that
contained the bacteria Enterobacter Sakaza-
kii, a rare cause of invasive infection with a
high case of fatality rates. The bacterium was
detected within one plastic applicator after a
series of tests were done by Kimberly Clark.
The bacteria, commonly referred to in the
science world as E. Sakazakii for short, may
cause health risks like vaginal infections,
urinary tract infections and pelvic inflam
matory disease— all life threatening infec
tions. Women with health problems such as
HIV/Aids, cancer, or any other compromis
ing immune condition should especially be
on alert, as their risk of infection is greater.
The recalled product consists of both the 18
and 36 count packages of the Kotex Natural
Balance brand of tampons. These infected
tampons were distributed between October
29 to November 2, to Wal-Mart location in
Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico
and Texas. They were also shipped to Fry’s
stores in Arizona and Smith stores in Utah
arid Arizona. It is recomiriended to consum
ers that purchased Kotex tampons between
the end of October to November ninth
should bemedically checked . The barcode is
at the bottom of the packaging for inflicted
lot numbers 15063 and 15068.While it is
quite concerning that not even our tam
pons are safe, do not fret; there has been no
reports on their being any adverse effects on
women that have used the product. How
ever, if you have used the product and are
experiencing any symptoms like unusual
vaginal discharge, rash, fever, headache,
vomiting, or abdominal pains, you should
contact a doctor immediately. Also, contact
the Kimberly-Clark Consumer Service Divi
sion at 1-800-336-6839 so that the infected
products can be properly retrieved and
disposedof
So ladies, check your boxes and be aware of
the tampon scare.
Kotex Natural Balance Security °
Unscented Tampons manufactured by
Kimberly-Clark, recalled November 9,
2011.
Manufacturer of hygienic products
(Kleenex, Scott toliet tissue, Kotex
Products, ect).