Month: January 2017
Daily Write #4
I thought it was really interesting on p. 541 in Rereading America how he explained homophobia and how it really affects men. It’s not as much a fear of gay people, it is more of a fear of men and being called gay and verbally or even physically abused. This passage especially challenged me because I had never thought of homophobia or male stereotypes in that way and how much guys have to live up to. I found it interesting when he said women automatically think a man is gay if they are sentimental or emotional or even a good listener if they care at all.
Daily Write #3 1/27/17 “What connections have you made this week?”
I have made a few connections this week. Rereading America has really broadened my horizons on sexual abuse and violence mainly towards women all over the country. The essay “The Longest War” has an overwhelming amount of statistics about women and just how awful the violence has gotten. This is absolutely insane. If sexual violence has gotten so bad that people around the world are having to protest and write books and everything else, something is seriously wrong and has been wrong for a long time. People do not like to talk about something that makes them uncomfortable so they avoid it, but this topic should be unavoidable. Why aren’t people more informed of things going on in the world? The statistics are so unbelievable it is impossible to avoid, but people try to anyway. It is so sad. This should not be okay. This has been the biggest realization to me this week.
Daily Write #2 bridge project gallary walk 1/25/17
The gallary walk today helped me realize how other people may think of America and that not everyone is optimistic. Some people have gone through a lot worse things than I have that possibly made them this way so it may be hard for them to see the optimistic side of America and our freedoms that we are able to have.
New Semester Resolutions 1/23/17
This semester, I would like to take more time for myself. This past semester I was so busy the whole time and just rushed through everything because I was so preoccupied. Me changing my major will help me have a lot more time than I did because it does not take as much time as being a music major. I was so stressed out last semester trying to balance practicing almost 8 or 9 hours a week, going to class, completing 8 study hours for luckyday a week, band, color guard, and everything else I had going on personally. I was being pulled every which way so my goal this semester is to balance my schedule more efficiently, try to be less stressed, and take more time for myself.
Bridge Project “What does America mean to me?”
To me, America represents freedom. In America, we have so many freedoms that other countries don’t. In America, there is freedom of speech where in a lot of other countries there is not.
Earlier on the day I took pictures, there was a woman’s rights protest going on around the square (and all around the nation) in front of the courthouse. This is just an example of how many freedoms we have here in America. We have the opportunity to vote, to own businesses, to go to church, and to go to college where in some countries they have to hide who they really are or want to be for fear of the government or judgement.
Freedom of religion means the most to me because I can freely worship my God whenever and wherever I want to.
I have the opportunity to live wherever I want or go anywhere I please. The fact that I can live in Oxford Mississippi and be paid to go to college at my favorite university is amazing to me and almost overwhelming. Because of our freedom of speech, it makes America quite complex and confusing because there are so many different opinions. Everyone has different values and belief systems that they personally think are correct, so this creates controversy.
In America, you can go get a higher education, travel the world, or do literally whatever you want to do because it is your life and you have the freedom to live it. I feel like if the government would just leave everyone alone and let them legally do what they want to and what they are going to do anyway, then everyone would be much happier.
Yes, we have to have laws on some things, but when it comes to who you can marry, what you can do with your own body, or anything else like that it should be up to the citizen. Because we live in America, people are going to do what they want to do anyway so you might as well make it legal.
