NAMES

Names are quite significant concerning the meaning behind them. In my case my name is Amena which means in my culture "honest woman". My sister Hanan means "passion" and Sabrine, the youngest means "patience". All three of us have unique names due to my fathers culture and his background. Around here though names like John, Joe, Mike, Christina, Kristin are all very common. Most of them are biblical. For example Kristin or Christina represents a follower of "christ". The thing is though is that those names aren't as common as we think. According to http://www.helium.com, Muhammad is the most common name in the world! A lot of people don't know that. I guess after everyone seen "Superbad" and we all heard "Mc'Lovin" say it now we know. No but seriously, names are greatly based on cultural signifigance. People like myself like unique names with some sort of symbolism. I am named after my grandmother. Its important to transfer down the same name in many cultures. In a way its almost like an honor and respect to take a family members name. As a child I always hated my named just because it was different. Now I embrace it rather that despise it.

Abortion YES or NO

Should woman have the right to choose? Most defenitaly yes (..yes i said it joseph ;). My beliefs are based on the fact that I am a woman and circumstances play a role when deciding whether or not to abort a baby. For instance, a woman is raped. She is now both mentally and physically damaged. Now she is pregnant. What does she do? first of all to bring a human being into this world that was produced through such evil intentions is beyond me. What about the child? Having to explain to them who their father is would be impossible. What about the welfare of the mother physcologically. She is forever damaged. Thats when I think it is appropriate for abortion to take place. I understand though that some people are pro-life rather than pro-choice. It could be due to religious beliefs or personal perceptions. I think its only right though for a woman to choose what to do. Its her body, her life. Do i think the whole process is justified? No. I've seen videos of the procedure being done and yes it makes me feel uncomfortable. But the main point is that its going to happen reguardless. Woman were doing it 50 years ago and they are going to do it now

Smoking

Ciggerettes are the most unhealthy habit us Americans have. I have been smoking for about 2 1/2 years and i am more ready to quit than ever. The toxants that are used in producing ciggerettes are beyond ones imagination. According to http://www.truth.com/ ciggerettes contain Acetone. Acetone is the same chemical used in nail polish remover. That means that everytime you inhale just imagine "nail polish remover" is being brought into your lungs. Whats scary is that ciggerettes are severly addicting. My mother started smoking when she was 15 and now shes 52. Shes one of the lucky ones. I know a number of people that have died due to smoking. Whether is be lung cancer or emphasima, its heart breaking to know that one day i might loose somebody close to me. I feel hiporictical in a way because I myself smoke reguardless of my knowledge. The thing is though is that so does the rest of America. The government provides surgeon warnings on every pack yet people still continue to buy them. I wonder would that be the same in a different situation. What if we went to the grocery store to by milk and on the container it said " may cause lung cancer", would we still buy it and take the chance. I think so.