Colin Easton's Story

Colin Easton is a writer and the creator of The Stranger Project. He attended Camosun College where he took the Applied Communication Program there with the hopes of becoming a videographer, but he later developed in interest in radio instead. In a video call interview, he shares his stories about The Stranger Project and how it all started.

        In 2013, Colin was diagnosed with clinical depression. He avoided communicating with people and spent most of his time inside. But he later made himself go out and tried to connect with someone he doesn’t know. After a conversation with a stranger he would go home and blog about that person’s story. In 2014, The Stranger Project came to life. The Stranger Project had helped Colin connect with many different people. Strangers had shared personal stories with him. Even though there were people who declined his offer in speaking with him, Colin did not give up because he knew that he would find someone who would look forward to sharing their deep dark secrets.

        Colin has been a guest speaker at events such as TEDx Talks and he is also an advocate for mental health. There is a documentary about The Stranger Project called, “Not a Stranger” that is directed by Kate Green. Colin Easton’s story will inspire people to go out and connect with the community.    

Tweeting Exercise

 1. Today The National Widget Company will be laying off 200 employees across Canada due to a restructuring of the company.

2. A human resource firm will be dealing with employees who have been laid off. Remaining employees will be offered counseling.

3. The option was to lay off employees or continue to add to the world over-supply which would make the company go out of business.

1. Sales of widgets have increased steadily which means The National Widget Company will rehire the 200 laid off employees from June 2016.

2. The employees will be called in as needed over the next few weeks with the plant operating at full capacity in 6 weeks.

3. 50 of the laid off employees has worked at the head office and main plant in Victoria.  

1. Since the Chinese market has been a success, The National Widget Company will add a manufacturing facility in Regina and also SK.

2. The NWC will hire 100 employees due to the expansion of the company.

3. The company needs the extra capacity because the Chinese market has been such a success. 

Opinion Post #2

Child Beauty Pageants   Chow   March 20, 2017

Child beauty pageants have been around since 1855 where P.T. Barnum has created “The National Baby Show”, a contest in which young girls are judged by their appearances (Moss, 2016). With the heavy makeup, sequin outfits, and attention these young girls are getting, it seems like they are living the dream. However, it is nothing like a dream. For example, the reality show from TLC network, “Toddlers and Tiaras” can be funny to watch at times but it is not always for laughs as it documents the lives of children under beauty pressures. Children who are trained to look like dolls for the public eye go through a lot of stress because at an early age they believe that physical attributes mean everything. This can lead to physical and mental health problems. Furthermore, these pageants encourage traditional female stereotypes where girls are viewed as objects. Therefore, child beauty pageants should be banned.

Contestants participating in child beauty pageants are too young to understand what they are going through. With their whole face covering in makeup and wearing a revealing outfit, this is how they catch the audience’s attention. With that being said, this is teaching children that natural beauty is unimportant. According to the British Journal of Psychology, “half of all six-year-olds think they are fat, and that by nine, half have been on a diet. For girls of 11 to 17, being thinner is their biggest wish,” (Roche, 2013, para.11). Not only will their physical health be affected but also their mental health. Parents who are former beauty pageants have forced their daughters to follow their footsteps while taking away their simple childhood and leaving them distressed. 6% of beauty pageant girls have suffered from depression (Statistic Brain, 2016). Child beauty pageants teach children about impossible beauty standards which can impact their health negatively.

A contest in which girls are judged by their physical attributes sends out the wrong message to society. Beauty pageants help promote the notion that women are nothing more than something to look at. At an early age, parents put their daughters in revealing outfits and teach them how to pose and catwalk seductively so they can impress the judges and possibly win money. Some believe this is a chance for young girls to play dress up and have fun, however, do parents even realize that they are sexualizing their children? “Parents assume the sexual content and innuendo in the programming they are watching will go over their child's head.. [but] in reality, they are teaching their children what kind of behavior will help them get noticed,” (Henson, 2011, para.5). Parents should teach young girls that their appearances are not meant to be assessed.   

Child beauty pageants might be entertaining for the parents and audience to watch, but it can impact the child negatively. Sexualizing children and causing them to develop health problems are two factors of why child beauty pageants should be banned.    

References:

Henson, M. (2011, September 13). ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ and sexualizing 3-year-olds. CNN. Retrieved March 20, 2017 from http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/12/opinion/henson-toddlers-tiaras/

Moss, G. (2016, September 14). What’s the history of child pageants?. Bustle. Retrieved March 20, 2017 from https://www.bustle.com/articles/183975-whats-the-history-of-child-pageants

Roche, R. (2015, September 8). The ugly side of child beauty pageants. Irish Examiner. Retrieved March 20, 2017 from http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/the-ugly-side-of-child-beauty-pageants-242192.html

Statistic Brain. (2016, January 24). Beauty pageant statistics. Statistic Brain. Retrieved March 20, 2017 from http://www.statisticbrain.com/beauty-pageant-statistics/    

Jason Motz Interview Story

Jason Motz Interview  Chow  March 14, 2017

            Jason Motz is a freelance writer and editor for Positive Living BC. After not wanting to be in retail anymore, Motz went back to school and continued his studies. He graduated from University of Victoria and while he studied there he wrote for the university’s newspaper called the Martlet. His first cover story for the Martlet was about the Egyptian spring. For him, this was the first important story that he wrote.

In a phone call interview, he shares some tips about freelance writing and journalism. As a freelance writer, we need to learn how to hustle and juggle with writing deadlines, our health, school, and our regular day jobs. There isn’t going to be someone there to tell us to get to work or remind us to take a break. Freelance writing will never be boring because of the different stories that will be assigned to you and also working with different companies will give you the chance to meet many new people. Reading is a very important activity to do as Motz has mentioned this a couple of times. Reading books specifically about the field you want to go into will help you discover a ton of information you haven’t known before.

The important skills a writer should have are meeting the deadlines for assignments, being prepared of what’s ahead, don’t have self-doubt, and be curious. Motz has provided many useful information about being a writer and it can help encourage young writers to set foot into the field.