Ted talk and paper

My Ted talk is still in progress but it’s coming along. I originally wrote my paper around the idea of how sneakers represent “choice” in society and how not only have plenty of choices to pick from, but also how society seems to be more accepting of the kinds of choices we make.  Not only in the style of sneaker that we choose, but in the choice to come out as gay, or the choice to show off our intellect. I was also going to talk about this in my Ted talk. However, this was a lot to write about and tough to pinpoint concrete ideas. I also couldn’t find enough research to support all of this. So….after my conference and talking to Doctor O, I decided that I will talk instead about how sneakers completely illustrate the extent of the value we place on style these days. People pay hundreds of dollars, wait in huge lines, and even kill each other simply for a brand of basketball shoes that a famous basketball star wore. Crazy? I think so. Kids used to have “nice” shoes that they wore to church and school, but then had they’re beat up, dirty shoes to go out and play in. Stylish shoes wer not emphasized on the playground. However today, kids want their parents to buy them $200 shoes for them to play in and look cool in front of their friends. That’s the basis of my argument and my speech isn’t perfect yet, but almost.