STAR

Another week goes by, and things in our world get a little bit crazier. Many new things went down this week; one of the most talked about events was the accidental fire of the grand Notre Dame Cathedral in France. Now if you have been living under a rock in that last 856 years that this monument has existed let me give you a quick rundown as to why this Cathedral is so important to many people. The Notre Dame Cathedral is just an ancient and immense church in France that a lot of people visit every year, it is also famous for its French Gothic architecture. Because there is so much history within the church, many were devastated when news of the fire broke out. Now, this isn’t the first time that Notre Dame has faced the threat of destruction and reconstruction so hopefully, it will be able to bounce back just like before.

A discussion that has been brought up in the most recent days is how to pay for these reconstructions. Luckily for Notre Dame, before the smoke had even cleared, billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault pledged over 100 million euros (12 million dollars) which sparked a rise in donations almost immediately. Today, nearly three days after the fire, over 1 billion dollars have been raised to cover the cost of reconstructing the Cathedral. This may sound like something that would be cause for celebration, but in reality, the only thing that has sparked from this is controversy. People have become angry towards the French government and others who have donated saying that the money raised would be better served if it went towards helping lessen poverty in France instead of being given to the Catholic Church which everyone knows is loaded. Many have even called out the wealthy donators saying that the only reason they care about donating this money to this specific cause is that they know they can receive a pretty significant tax break. The Pinault Family has already put out of statement saying they will not be accepting the tax break, but sadly they have been the only ones to do so thus far.

This controversy has also reached the U.S as people called out the United States government for pledging money towards helping out the Notre Dame fire when they couldn’t even be bothered to help their people. This is in reference to the United States not helping Puerto Rico after the Natural Disasters (even today Puerto Rico is not fully recovered) and also failing to help the people of Flint, Michigan obtain clean water. In my opinion, I think that if the Catholic Church is so wealthy, then THEY can pay to rebuild Notre Dame. I mean the money can be better used to help the people that have nothing. The people that don’t have a place to call home, that don’t have any food to feed their families that don’t have any CLEAN water. It’s time to rethink where our priorities lie and focus on the people who need it.

Thank you for reading my blog. If you want to read more about this you can find the link HERE 🙂 — STAR

Today I will be responding to Ryan Sun’s blog post on the college admissions scandal. Now this story sure is a crazy one, its something that many people myself included believed to be true and now that it has come out into the light things will never be the same. Applying to college is a grueling process as you look back at all that you have done for four years and hope it will be enough to get you into the school of your dreams. I went through this process last year and its something that brings on a lot of stress especially when you receive a rejection letter. Having this story come out really brings up questions such as “Would I have gotten in if I was richer?” or “Would I have gotten in those parents hadn’t paid for their kid’s spot?” It’s really a crappy thing to think about because it messes with your mind it really does. To think about all the work you put in to make it into a good school, and all those kids did was be born into a wealthy family.

College as we all know it is designed for those that are wealthy. To be competitive, you have to take several AP test which cost money (around $95 per test). Most schools require you to take the SAT and/or ACT which also cost money. Not just to take the test but also to be able to prepare for it. Most low-income students cannot afford to take the classes to prepare for these tests while rich people can. And that’s just to be able to get in. Once you get in you have to figure out how to pay for it, yes you get financial aid, but often it does not cover the full cost. All that plus books and room and board is so much money. Often people who work their ass off to get in don’t end up going because of money. This is something that I can relate to when I was applying to colleges I got accepted into UC Berkeley, but I just could not afford it, and the financial aid I was offered was honestly a joke. So hearing about people buying their way into college is just so disappointing and discouraging, it really makes you think that there is no way you will ever get anywhere without having money. And to have that pop up into your head while you’re trying to pass your classes is just crap.

I also want to agree with something that Ryan said at the end of the post. Whatever college you go to does not matter. Do not go to a college just because of the name, go because you want to be there, because you like the environment, and go because you know that you can be happy there. This scandal was a big one, but honestly, it did not surprise me, it was really just the tip of the iceberg to help everyone realize that college is an institution for the rich. However don’t let that discourage you from attending, you work hard and prove to all the rich assholes that you DID THAT! That you got in because you CAN get in, not because mommy bribed the admissions office to let you in.

This week Kim Kardashian West caused quite a stir when she announced she plans on becoming a lawyer. Many still see Kim Kardashian as a selfish talentless celebrity who only became famous due to a 2007 sex tape with rapper Ray J. Now 19 years later Kim Kardashian is one of the most well-known names in the world. Even though that isn’t really where her fame came from, people just use it as an excuse to discredit her achievements. She successfully opened up a chain of boutiques and used the publicity generated from her family’s reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians to launch several business opportunities. In my opinion, it does not matter what really jumpstarted her career, what really matters is all the good that she has done with her fame. Over the past couple of years, Kim has done so much to help people in the criminal justice system and supports over 23 different charities.

Looking over the comments on Twiter many people were surprised that Kim was hoping to become a lawyer in 2022. I was at first taken aback by this decision when I read the headline, but then I realized that taking that step seemed like a good idea given that Kim wants to keep helping those in the criminal justice system. Recently Kim was part of a successful campaign to get Alice Johnson, a 63-year-old woman serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug charge, released from prison after having served more than 21 years. Kim has also been working with other lawyers/activist to create a new prison reform and help others who are going through the same situation Alice Johnson went through. On her appearance on the Today Show, she explains that working with other lawyers and helping Alice Johnson are some of the reasons she wanted to become a lawyer.

Honestly, I think that is she wants to become a lawyer then good for her, pursuing higher education is no joke and requires hard work. Many people are going as far as to call this “Kim’s newest trend” and merely attempting to turn it into a laughing matter when really it’s her career now. On the Today show, she responded to what people have been saying about her decision stating that “It’s definitely not a trend, it’s definitely not a fad, it’s not something to get attention.” I don’t even understand how becoming a lawyer would be a trend in the first place. Because she has such a strong fan base and social media influence this can actually be a good thing. Kim serves as an inspiration for so many people, and I think that this will inspire people to pursue their dreams. Kim is about to become a mother of four children with the birth of her new son via surrogate and her wanting to pursue becoming a lawyer at the same time is just badass. The people who continuously say Kim is talentless are the same people who are now making fun of her decision to pursue law.

The link to the article is located HERE if anyone wants to read it. I have also included some of the tweets that stood out to me below 🙂

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Welcome everyone to my blog! My name is Star Reina. I am a first-year college student. I am 19 years old, and I was born in a small city in Mexico. I come from a relatively small family which has been great because I am super close to both my parents and my little sister. I am bilingual which has really helped shape my perspective of the world. One of my life goals is to travel the world, and although being undocumented has put a halt on those plans I am confident that one day I will be able to see all the beautiful cultures of the world. I am a very open person and I enjoy listening to the opinions of others. I am very passionate about social issues and I try to keep up to date on the things that happen in the world. I believe that staying up to date is the first step in changing the world because if we know what is going on then we can come up with ideas to change the world for the better.

Another thing about me is that I love to listen to music. I wouldn’t say I have a favorite type because I enjoy all music but my favorite artist is most definitely J.Cole. His music is really inspiring and unlike other rappers, his songs discuss the problems in the world and how we can go about bringing change. I also enjoy reading books and binging T.V shows. If you ever need suggestions on either one I am happy to give them out. My favorite flowers are sunflowers mainly because they are so bright and happy just like the stars.

Hope this helps better understand who I am. I can’t wait to see what my time on this blog will hold.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton