Spit it out now or we will find you!!

                I like to watch TV whenever I get time to; I don’t really have a favorite show, in fact the best part of TV for me is the commercials. They always seem to come up with new ways to sell the same stuff and at times it can be quite humorous. That’s why for my commercial to blog about I chose one of the many Stride gum commercials. There is so many of them and they are all funny but the one I like the best is the Shawn White chase. In it they chase a guy through the mall trying to get him to spit out his gum and trade it for the company’s new product stride 2.0. The message or thesis in having to force the guy to spit out the gum is because they are trying to send the message that Stride gum last longer than all the types of gum on the market. The company also throws in that the purpose for showing the commercial at all is; they have a new type of gum on the market and if you don’t try it, they will find you; their ways of showing that I find hilarious. I believe that the audiences for these commercials are teens and young adults; that also maybe why I find it so funny. In the commercials they use things that appeal to a younger audience such as violent comedy, and in this particular one they use skateboarding in a mall; which is something most teens like, but the biggest sign as to who the audience is that famous snowboarder Swan White makes an appearance near the end.

            Even though I like the commercial because it is humor; I would never be persuaded to buy stride gum. I tried it once and wasn’t at all impressed by it; the flavor did not last very long and I didn’t like the taste at all. Another reason I wouldn’t buy it is because in a way the commercial publicizes it they also make it seem undesirable; I mean why would I want to chew gum that would make me keep glancing over my shoulder to make sure there’s not someone after me trying to force me to spit it out so I can try another version or flavor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWgScufbHc0

My Ecological Footprint

             I just took the ecological footprint quiz and it told me that it takes 3.6 earths to support my lifestyle. When I got my results I thought I’m not doing too bad, it made me happy to think I’m not killing the Earth too much.  More than half (55%) of my used resources where services, 17% was shelter, 13% food, 10% goods, and 5% mobility;   it takes 15.9 global acres to support my life style.

                When I hear the word footprint I think of a mark left behind on the earth when you walk on the ground while wearing no shoes. Then I heard about an ecological footprint, I found out it is the mark you leave on the earth with the resources that you use in everyday life; it is the toll that that you take on the earth, the planet we live on. I think it is important to take care of the earth because where would we live without it. The earth sustains us by giving us resources to live. Sometimes we forget though that the earth is only so big, and we are a lot of people. That’s why I think that quizzes like the one I took are good way of giving awareness to people, and helping people who are already aware to keep track of just how much of earth, our home that we use up.

                When I took the quiz I noticed that there was one resource that I used way more than all the others. That resource is the services, which would be my use of electric and water. Now that I have found out that I was using so much of it I will take a special notice every time I come in contact with its use. I will make sure that the faucets, appliances, and electronics in my home are off and unplugged when they are not in use. I am very glad I was made aware of this quiz that helped show me what I could do to help keep the earth that I love stay alive, healthy, and green.  

An Evening in My Front Yard.

          After I finish a delicious diner made by my mom I walk out of my house to the smell of gun powder and fresh rain. The sun feels warm on my bare arms as it beats down from the sky where the clouds have now retreated from. My cousins are talking in the background; I leave them to what they’re doing and find another place in the yard to focus on. I find my dog laying in a freshly made puddle, splashing the water every now and then with his front paws to keep cool. His ears twitch as he listens to everything around him, watching everyone with a careful eye.

            BANG!! Another shot, the dog jumps up with alertness as he searches for danger that’s not there. A cool breeze blows across the yard; it makes the hot sun more tolerable in the hot late afternoon. I look over to my cousin Joey cleaning his new gun after trying it out, he’s smiling happy with what he bought. I glance around the yard as the wind blows the trees and grass from side to side, giving off a light rustling sound. For a few minutes it feels silent after the loud shots of the gun. Then a car passes by, a bird chirps, I sigh; I look around the yard once more and go back inside.  

A Little Bit About Myself

Hello, my name is Whitney Tucker. I’m an 18 year old student at FGCU this year. I live about 45 minutes from campus in North Fort Myers; I grew up there in a small neighborhood, on a white dirt road. Where I live I’m surrounded by several family members, I love my home because it’s quite and everybody knows everybody.

            Earlier this month I graduated from Riverdale High School, I had been there longer than the normal high school student not because I failed anything but because I also when to middle school at Riverdale. Soon it was very much like my home; everyone knew each other. That’s why I choose to go to FGCU, I wanted to go to a school that was bigger than a local college but still close to home. I’m also very interested in the upcoming agriculture projects, I’ve heard about through work. One of things that I’m really proud of in my life is my job; I’m a gardener at Herban Gardens. At the moment my boss and I are working with FGCU and a few other companies to get an agriculture grant, we are also looking forward to having FGCU interns working on the farm in the fall. Work is such a big part of my life that being part of the student body of FGCU was a simple and obvious choice for me.  

            Even though I am very invested in agriculture, I decided to major in business. I found that business is in a way a universal degree, no matter what you do in life a business degree looks good on your record. To me it’s like a plan B for the future, if gardening fails I have something to fall back on.  

            Honestly though I don’t think it will fail, for one people eat plants. Another is my boss Ken Ryan has been gardening for over 30 years and is still going strong. I started working for Ken when I was 13 years old, but I’ve known him since I was 3. I needed a summer job so I asked my dad to ask him if he needed help with his business, since he knew him well. It’s now 6 years later and I’ve been promoted to Farm Manager for the fall. I’m so excited about my new position; I can’t wait to learn more about how the business works. Gardening has shaped my life, and through it I have met amazing people, tasted some of the best foods, and learned wonderful things, such as how to make life from a small seed and watch it grow into something beautiful and helpful to the Earth and ourselves. Now I’m at FGCU where I have come to learn all that I can and use what I learn to better myself as a person.