Toxic Texting

Amy W. — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:11:20 +0000

Being part of the first generation of texters, I seem to know all of the ins and outs of the phenomenon. Even though I am not a licensed driver yet, I am still fully aware of all of the dangers of “texting behind the wheel.” Being the passenger of many of my friends who are all starting to get their licenses, it makes me nervous when they even look at their phone for a split second, knowing anything can happen as soon as they take their eyes off of the road. A problem we have that applies to other various aspects of life is that we always seem to take on more responsibility than we can handle. We may think that we are able to multitask while driving, but it really is way too distracting. The road needs to be your one and only focus behind the wheel.

Pedestrians, street signs, buildings, stores and other vehicles around you are enough of a distraction, without adding your cell phone to the mix. One may think they are being “cool” because they can text while driving, but how cool are you, buddy, when you and your friends get in a fatal crash because you were texting?
When someone as popular and well known as Oprah Winfrey is saying to not text behind the wheel, then I, for one, immediately open my eyes and ears and listen in on what she has to say. Oprah is calling texting while driving our new deadly obsession, literally. If you are texting while driving, you are putting your own life at risk, as well as your passengers’ lives and the lives of the people in the cars around you. So many people of all ages are being killed each year from the consequences of texting while driving. Oprah is trying to get people to take her No Phone Zone Pledge to not text while driving. Hopefully this will motivate people to take the pledge—and to be safer drivers.

Among many of the gadgets we use today are various Bluetooth or “hands-free” cell phone devices. Too many people think that these devices are 100 percent safer than actually holding your cell phone—WRONG! Studies show that these hands-free devices can be just as distracting as holding the cell phone itself; you are still being distracted by talking and engaging in another thing other than the road.

So the next time you are driving and you go to pick up your phone, stop and think for a minute: Is this text (or phone call) really life or death? And if you are a passenger, make sure you tell your driver to not use their phone at any time while you are in the car…and even when you are not! Taking a minute out of your day to participate in Oprah’s No Phone Zone Pledge could end up adding years to your life!

My Life as…Morgan

Morgan M. — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:01:47 +0000

The people, places and stories you are about to see are all real…at least the way I see it.

Love & Rockets,

Morgan

P.S. MTV made me do this.

Between keeping my grades up, my ski schedule, cheerleading and my family and friends, my life is insanely busy. Monday night at 10:30 p.m., though, is my guilty pleasure: “My Life as Liz” is on MTV. (You really should set your TiVo or DVR.)

The show asks, Do you feel alone? Do you think you’re an outcast? It inspires the girl who feels like a loner to realize that other girls feel the same way.

Liz Lee is a girl from Burleson, Texas, who used to be part of the “in” crowd. That changed when she found people she actually clicked with. The show follows the journey that is her senior year. She’s doing anything she can to fight off the popular kids while hanging out with a shy kid from AP English named Bryson (shhh, don’t tell anyone, but she likes him).

For quite some time, I thought that if I put on a front that “I’m a cheerleader,” I’d be accepted. But I’m definitely not the snobby, skinny thing everyone makes cheerleaders out to be. It turns out I spend the littlest amount of time possible with the girls on my squad. They are very self-absorbed. All they seem to care about is how short the skirts are and how hot No. 21 on the basketball team is. I sit alone every other day in the lunchroom. I would be so glad to have Liz at my school, because I feel like she feels the same way I do. (But in a way, I am stuck in the character Taylor Terry’s world. She wants to be friends with Liz, but her friends threaten to kick her out of their group.)

Yeah, so, I have guy friends. But I don’t get asked out and, no, I do not have a boyfriend. No one even wants to be my lab partner in biology. I feel like they think they’re better than me because I’m nice to the kids who have issues of their own, and the “poplars” think that’s gross. I am really quiet during the school day. I think school is meant for learning and growing up and not deciding on who you will marry at 15.

I am willing to say hi to anyone, but sometimes the responses are not G-rated. For example, I’ll have a lot of books and the gym door will be shut and I’ll ask someone to hold it, and they’ll accuse me of being a b——. Still, I somehow ended up with over a thousand friends on Facebook. I don’t get out much because I am attached to my 1990s Dell computer that’s been temporarily slowed down thanks to my brother’s “Call of Duty” craze. (I guess you could say I’m like the peanut butter and the Dell is the jelly here.) I own a cell phone. I do not have an iPod, hence my obsession with YouTube. I listen to almost anything and also wear pretty much anything, from preppy all the way down to leopard-print pants and oversize T-shirts. I wear glasses; I just don’t like things near or in my eyes, so no contacts. (Not to mention how my glasses look like 1980s pop-out-type shades that are making their way on back.)

Liz reminds me that from someone else’s perspective I could appear perfectly happy, even if I feel otherwise. But I have no choice but to be me, so I’m going to be me, and you can be you. I tell myself to break free of that clique mold.

There will always be the girl with the cutest bag, highest heels and what have you, or the football player with the varsity jacket who you wish would someday hold your hand. That’s never going away.

Watching “Liz” shows me that I can be a cheerleader but still rock my bleached camp T with my nickname across the back. I’m going to live “My Life as Morgan.” Hey, that does have a ring to it…MTV?

For Sisters By Sisters » cell phone

Toxic Texting

My Life as…Morgan