Learning A Language Through Insults

     It is not easy to learn another language, especially to the extent of going to another country and emerging oneself among people who speak another language.  David Sedaris wrote Me Talk Pretty One Day after resuming his education by going to school in France.  The writing of this essay is slightly ironic, since Sedaris is known for being a spoken word poet and public speaker.  He "lost his intelligence" when he went to learn another language in another country, since it was difficult to even form a correct sentence.  His teacher was harsh and verbally abusive to her students and mocked them for speaking incorrectly.

     A limited vocabulary often invites controversy due to the fact that words can be misused or have a different meaning under slang.  Sedaris's teacher in France would yell at her students constantly for misusing words, and would yell insults at the students in a language they did not understand.  "Even a Fiuscrzsa Ticiwelmun knows that a typewriter is feminine," was said by the teacher one day.  I believe that the teacher upset the students on purpose.  It is hurtful to be called a name in one's native language, and even worse to be sworn at in a different language since one does not know what the insult truly means.  The teacher had a "better than thou" attitude, which then motivated students to surpass and please her in order to be perfect.  Sedaris was motivated to improve by the teachers harsh and abrasive words.

     Sedaris and his classmates were motivated to understand.  Understanding comes from hardship and difficulties, since being thrown into a situation forces one to adapt.  It does not occur all at once, but understanding, especially a language, comes over time.  It is also possible to understand other things besides facts.  For example, Sedaris began to understand his teachers teaching method.  At the end of this essay, he touches upon the feeling that comes from understanding.  It is a liberating feeling that opens ones mind to learn more.  There is a feeling that there is a whole other world out there to explore, and when one learns another language, insults and all, it really is another world and culture.  By the end of the class Sedaris was able to completely understand his teachers degrading comments fluently, providing him with a sense of pride and confidence, allowing him to speak out to against his teacher.

A Flawed System

     Our American school system has its positive aspects, but there is still much room for change.  It is positive in the sense that it is possible to return to school to receive a further degree, or even try a new topic just for fun.  Despite this, instead of developing to include more areas of study in high school, the education department is cutting different programs.  High schools have forced students into a corner and limit their opportunity to find what they truly want to do in life.  The arts among other things are being cut, and the importance of varsity sports are being stressed.  Students need to know what they want to do with there life in college, but the process of discovering oneself should begin at the high school level.

      In class, we read an article by Leon Botstein titled Let Teenagers Try Adulthood.  I personally did not enjoy Botstein's argument, even though he did raise some good points.  His argument was very weak; he called for a change in the school system where the ages of each level of education dropped, so school would begin at a younger age.  However, he did not state how this change would be enacted or how this would affect the teachers too.  The teachers would need to relearn how to teach a particular age group, and the requirements for each tier of the education system would change.  Simply high school cannot change, since then elementary school, middle school, and college requirements would need to change.  

     In his argument, Botstein claims that students should decide what field they wish to go into when they are 16 rather than 18.  From there, they would go to a specialized school.  This is a problem for two reasons.  Very often, even at the age of 18, students do not know what they wish to do in life and those who do are a special few.  If many students do not know what they wish to do at the age of 18, how would they be expected to know what they wish to do at 16? Many students would also take the easy way out and go into a specialized field that will require little effort, creating a job imbalance.  Even though students have lots of freedom and are experiencing outside of the classroom that they previously hadn't, they are not ready to decide what they wish to do in life at the age of 16.

      The school system is defiantly in need for a change, and I support Botstein in the sense that there should be more opportunities, but his argument was weak and did not take into consideration the consequences for the change.  High school could become more like college, where there is a set required of classes for the first to years, but then after that it would be more personalized to the student.  For example, there would be the required science, but the student would be able to take something that they may want to go into.  An artist could take an anatomy science class to help improve their body proportions and portrait drawings.   This may not work however, since the college level would need to adjust their required classes in order to accept this adjusted form of education.  However, any level of change in the education curriculum would need a chain reaction with the other levels of education as well.

Slang Is Part of Our Culture

1) According to Walt Whitman, slag is particularly American since the population of America is so diverse.  Slang can originate from a mix of words in different languages.  For example, spanglish is not a real language but is frequently used, so it is slang.  This is even more true today, since social media has created another, even shorter, language.  Slang is literally slang for "shortened language."

2) The first paragraph lays the foundation for the rest of the essay sinceWhitman discusses the different things that creat a language.  Languages are formed out of necessity and constantly adapt with the times.  Often, languages have roots in other dialects; for example, the romance languages derive from Latin.  Since there are no boundaries to say what is right and wrong when speaking, new languages are formed.  Slang is an example of a new language, except it is influenced by several languages instead of just one.

3) In paragraph two, Whitman defines his concept of slang.  He describes it as "lawless," meaning that it is not used in formal situations and has no rules, guidelines, or boundaries.  Modern day slang does not follow the actual definitions of the word, such as "lit," so it is lawless.  He also states that it is "below all words and sentences," showing that words and sentences are over, or divided, to form slang.  Words and sentences are broken down to the simplified form we call slang.  In modern language words are shorted to allow the speaker to make their point quicker, such as telephone shortened to phone, and television to TV.  Whitman uses the words "perennial rankness" to show that the frequency of the use of slang makes it one of the highest used languages.  It is able to maintain this rank by constantly adapting to the world, such as modern day terms used on the internet, like "omg" and "idk."

4) The first metaphor in paragraph two is, "like one of Shakespeare's clowns."  This is related to slang since slang seems wrong and comedic to the upper class, but is actually a witty for of speaking that is used to outdo people of a higher rank.  The second metaphor is about the "fermentation and eructation" of language.  This relates to slang since language is used flippantly and made up on the spot in order to suit one's needs, but few words actually stick and last.  The first metaphor is more effective than the second since the second one is overly complicated and the reaction to slang is lost due to having to think deeply about what the metaphor is saying.

5) Whitman simplifies paragraph three by using examples of slang and direct language rather than overly complex metaphors.

6) Whitman is able to relate slang to mythology by showing the connections during the development of both.  Words are created on the spot in order to describe and form physical things and are used to open doors to the mind.  These new words are created for the purpose of sharing information and telling stories, like mythology.

7)  In paragraphs six through ten, Whitman uses evidence to prove one main point with several sub-points.  His main point is that slang has been used throughout history through nicknames.  He uses examples such as names, titles, descriptions, food, and locations that are all referred to by nicknames.  These points help support his main argument.

8) In paragraph eleven, Whitman is very sarcastic in his opinion of American humorists.  I believe that this helps strengthen his essay since he is observing what other people think, rather than ranting about his own personal views on slang.

9) The tone of this essay informative and full of awe.  In the last paragraph, Whitman uses the metaphor of the english language being like layers of rock.  Like the layers of rock the roots of the english language go deep and each new form of language builds upon the layers below it.  This is where Whitman gives the reader the visual of the true depth of the english language and all that supports it, which reveals his sense of awe in regards to the extensive and unique diction used in the english language.  The metaphor of the layers helps the reader to feel the same way that Whitman does.

10)  The other writings of Walt Whitman agree with what he states within this essay.  His style is similar in the sense that it is profound but in a simplistic way.  In his poem, Mannahatta, he uses simple and common language to convey his message without seeming generic and common.  His writing is meaningful without being over complicated.  While he does leave room for deeper interpretation, he keeps things simple so that nothing is too hard to make sense of and allows one to think without becoming overwhelmed.

11) Whitman's definition of slang is still relatable to today's time.  While modern slang is much different than what Whitman experienced, his definition is timeless since slang is always present.  In today's society it is not uncommon to hear someone to describe something as "mad ___."  Mad literally means angry or agitated, but the land form means more along the lines of really.  "Mad funny" and "Mad loud" do not make any sense when the words are used properly, but since they are made up of slang, it means "really funny" and "really loud."

12) I do not agree with Tom Dalzell's take on modern slang.  Slang is not used to rebel or defy a larger power, it is simply shorthand communication.  Choices of young generations differ greatly from older generations and are often frowned upon by the elders.  However, when the older generations were young, their parents and elders most likely said similar things to them.  Slang has been used since the beginning of time.  The words "hip" and "groovy" are not used anymore, but they are still slang and have been replaced with new words like "lit" and "mad ___."  Slang is not a rebellious choice, it is just something that develops over time.  To me, slang is like a long term running joke that spreads not just through friends, but entire generations.  It is hard to describe the true meanings of slang words to people who do not understand.  Tom Dalzell acts as though his generation never used slang, and that modern generations and their independent decisions are something that should be regulated and stopped.  He makes it sound as though young people need to experience the world through a filter of proper language.  His take on slang has no facts to back up what he is saying and he sounds like a cranky old man who is scared of change that he is not willing to understand.

A Different Type of English

     People who speak english as a second language are often described as speaking "broken" or "incorrect" english.  While neither word is good to use, broken is very negative to use when describing how someone speaks.  Saying that they are broken means that there is something that needs to be fixed, when in reality they only have difficulty expressing their complete thoughts.  What they are thinking is not wrong or broken; the way that they are voicing these thoughts are just different from what is "normal."  People who speak another language are expected to speak with no accent in perfect english when primarily english speakers do not speak correctly themselves.  Slang is used so frequently that people often forget the true meaning of the word, if the word is real at all.  People who speak another language may have profound thoughts, but the fear of being judged as well as the language barrier can cause them to fumble their words and not be taken seriously.
     No matter what language one speaks, there is a difference between our inner and outer emotions and dialogue.  Some people have strong and passionate feelings on the inside but do not enjoy speaking out or have difficulty doing so.  This difficulty can come from fear of public speaking, and when english is one's first language, no one looks down upon them for fumbling words or incomplete thoughts and sentences.  However, if the fumble is due to a language barrier, people immediately lose interest or become annoyed.  The mockery of people with language barriers inhibit people from voicing a true opinion and from being taken seriously.  These people learn the consequences if they make a mistake or speak with too heavy of an accent, so often times they speak through another person who will be able to "fix" their english, if they even speak out at all.
     There are many varieties of english; such as slang, proper language, sarcasm, and jokes between families and friends.  Each person has their own personal language that can influence others despite it being different.  Different ways of saying things can open doors to new ways of thinking.  One person's word choice may provide a different meaning than someone saying something similar.  People of other cultures also have words that do not translate into something direct, but it translates into a feeling or an action.  This makes it even harder for people to learn english and have to describe something that they normally have a word for.  English slang is similar since most of the time it cannot be translated.  For example, the word "lit" means something different than the slang version, which cannot really be defined.  Often times when people are asked what it means, they just give examples of things that are "lit" rather than actually being able to define it.  It is acceptable to not e able to fully define what one is saying if they speak english, but once someone who is fluent in another language can not define the translation, people become annoyed.  Often times we get so caught up in slang that we forget the real meaning of our words, or even overcomplicate to an extreme.
     Amy Tan, a Chinese author, discuses the struggles of the language barrier that her mother faces in "Mother Tongue".  She used to write overcomplecated sentences that her mother was not able to understand, and her mother could only speak in english in simple or incomplete sentences that fit together like puzzle pieces.  Through these experiences, Tan was able to realize that the most effective way to write in order to inform is by writing easy to read sentences.  Tan decided that while she was writing she would imagine that she was going to have her mother read it, which allowed her the opportunity to write relatable and easy to understand essays and books.  I believe that the title can refer to two things.  "Mother Tongue" can refer to someones native language, but it could also refer to  her mother's way of speaking in english.
     Language barriers are very difficult to overcome, but people who do not speak english as their primary language should not be ridiculed when making mistakes or speaking in an unusual manner.  It is socially acceptable to speak incorrectly as an english speaker, but once someone does the same but with an accent, they are looked down upon and not treated with respect.  Amy Tan voices this and provides personal examples of how she has witnessed her mother's struggle with speaking english.

The Importance of a Name

     Since Americans do not feel that they need to learn about other cultures, they often pronounce things incorrectly, if they even try at all, and will not put in the effort to educate themselves on different dialects.  They take the names of people of color and turn them into mockeries and swears, believing that their way is superior.  People of color are expected to perfect American pronunciation, but Americans are not held to the same standard to put in as much respect for other cultures.
     A name is a unique title that means something to each person and their culture.  Names make up who we are.  Everything that we say or do is under our name, but some people are forced to change their title as a means of survival, which takes away a piece of them.  Changed names can make the person or even their  family feel as though they are rejecting their culture.  However, people of color are forced to change their name because if they do not, they are often times rejected when applying for jobs.  Either way they are not truly happy since if they change their name they are taking away something special to them, but if they do not, they are to respected and cannot find jobs since they are assumed to me immigrants.
     Among the many challenges people of color face is the mockery of their names.  Generic and simple one-syllable American names are considered ideal, and anything different is rejected.  People of color are expected to change their names in order to fit in.  Americans force them to change their beautiful names with unique meanings to something average and easy to pronounce.  Americans are scared to look stupid and are insecure of their own culture that functions on sterotypes.  They want to keep the superiority that they consider their birthright, bringing down other cultures in the process.
If people of color do change their names, Americans begin to assume that it is their "real name," which often subjects them to hearing derogatory terms about their culture.  They hear their names warped into profanity.  Either the name itself is spit out as a swear, or it is changed to be a swear.  For example, the author of the essay titled "The F-Word," Firoozeh Dumas tells the reader that her name was changed changed to "dumbass" in order to mock her.  The title of the essay itself is in regards to her first name being taken as a swear.  It was seen as something wrong that should not be said in its entirety.
     Not being willing to learn a person of color's name is a form of racism.  Very few people are willing to learn about the meaning and pronunciation of people of colors' names.  However, as more people are making the effort to end this disrespect, there may come a day that the names of people of color will be treated with the same amount of respect as American names.  With the growing awareness on the acceptance of people of color, there is more of a chance for the names of people of color to be accepted in American society.

The Power of Positive Thinking

Emotions often dictate the manner in which a person conducts themselves.  Through the influence of those around me, I believe in the power of positive thinking.  Optimistic thoughts lead to positive results, and in turn cynical thoughts lead to negative consequences.  Having an open mind can boost one’s confidence and give a person the strength to pursue further ambitions.  Intrusive thoughts lead to worst case scenario thinking, resulting in hesitation or even giving up.  My teachers have taught me this valuable lesson of the power of being optimistic over the years, which has a strong affect on me today.

            My favorite teacher from my middle school once told my class that positive thoughts will lead to positive results.  For class, we had to write a short essay.  I do not remember what it was on, but I do recall her telling me that if I am confident with what I am saying and if my information is accurate I could not go wrong.  People will not always agree with what you are saying, but if you give evidence as to why you believe something to be true, you will have a strong argument with powerful statements.  Despite being confused at the time, my teacher showed me that positive thinking and self-confidence will have a stronger impact on the reader.  However, if negative thoughts begin to infiltrate one’s thoughts, lack of confidence can lead to mistakes.  This year I have had a problem with second guessing myself.  I will walk into a test thinking that I am going to preform poorly, and as a result I second-guess myself.  I will have a correct answer and change it to the wrong one because I am lacking the positive thoughts I need to preform well.  Teachers have asked me why I second guess myself, and all I can say is I am not sure when in reality I know.  I did not go in with a positive thought process which then affected the quality of my work.  Positive thinking has the power to affect our performance level.

            My teachers throughout middle school and high school have shown me that there is power in positive thinking.  Through their encouraging words and enthusiastic motivation, I have learned that having an optimistic mindset can have a positive impact on one’s actions.  I remembered my middle school teacher telling me this but not fully understanding what she meant.  After all this time, this memory has come back to me each time I have doubted myself, especially this year.  I used to hear it often but now it has a direct affect on me, which has allowed me to open my eyes to the true meaning of optimism.  This does not mean that I do not doubt myself now that I am aware of the power of positivity.  However, now I know that in order to do well, I cannot simply give up and throw in the towel.  With this newly understood knowledge, I hope that in the future I will gain the faith in myself to increase my amount of positive thinking.  As of right now I am still very cynical in regards to myself, but I know that the power of positive thinking will have a helpful long-term affect on my abilities.

            When one person is positive and shares that emotion with others and influences them, a cycle forms in which the power of positivity is passed along.  We can all learn just as I did that optimism is the most beneficial form of self-improvement.  I believe that the power of positive thinking can affect everyone.    

Home is Peace

     Home can have different meaning to different people depending on their personal experiences.  To me, home is where I am welcomed, accepted, and taken care of.  My version of home is not always a particular place, but is usually with certain people such as my family and close friends.  I am usually a very tense person, so when I feel safe is when I feel at home.  That is normally with a variety of people and not at a specific place.  I often joke that my second home is school, but in a way it is true because that is where my closest friends are.  My physical house can also be home, as well as the houses of my friends and other places.  To me, home means peace, and I find peace with those who love me.
     Being with supportive and loving friends and family is home.  One day I was at my friend's house with a couple of my other friends and we just sat in their room and talk about everything.  I do not remember exactly what was said, but I remember feeling warm, safe, and happy.  We laughed so hard we cried, and within the span of 30 minutes we talked about actual meaningful life situations.  When I think of home I think of this time.  Laughing, playing games, and living life with my closest friends is truly home to me.  We may be goofy at times but I know that when I fall they have my back.  This support system is home.

     Home can come to us in the most unexpected of ways.  When I met my friends I had no idea how close I wold become to them and how much they would mean to me.  I found home within these people, but prior to meeting them I had no idea what I was missing.  Before meeting these wonderful friends whom I love, I forced myself assimilate into a group of people I was not like.  I forced myself to be like everyone else, whereas with my true friends I am able to accept myself and be more confident with who I am.
     We may not always go into a place looking for a home, but it can be found in people who genuinely care.  Finding a home is not the same as looking for a house.  A home is built up through positive relationships with people and finding comforting places.  Buying a home is based on appearance and functionality, where as a home is something one creates themselves.  Such as a comforting and safe space and also those feelings with certain people.
     Homeless people may not have a place to live, but that does not mean that they do not have a home.  They may find home with people who care about them and who understand them.  Others may not even feel safe in their actual house so their home is where people care of them. I believe that it is the same way for most people.  Home is not always a physical place although it can be, but it is often with specific people.  Home is a safe and welcoming community of those closest to one self.

What Makes An Activist

     In an essay titled, "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not be Tweeted," Malcolm Gladwell discussed why he believes that movements such as those on twitter show advocacy rather than activism.  I enjoyed Gladwell's essay because he used strong examples and was rational and did not become too overemotional where the true message was lost.  There are many hashtags that show support for movements such as #blacklivesmatter, #iamcharlie, and #istandwithahmed that surround different social issues.  Social media can help to spread the message of the movement, creating a organized and specific group of supporters.  Gladwell discusses the differences between modern and past activism.  Throughout his essay he supports the argument that advocacy is not the same as activism and provides examples to reveal the difference.
     The use of hashtags in social media were created for the purpose of organizing and filing different words, events, and subjects.  In a sense, they are still used for their intended purpose, but they are used to bring light to different social injustices.  People can look on a particular hashtag and see current information retaliating to the topic.  Hashtags are especially useful for the purpose of spreading the message, but at the same time they are empty and can be used simply to follow a trend. Recently, the hashtag #blacklivesmatter to shine light upon the unjust treatment of black people and focuses heavily on police brutality.  People are able to organize and quickly share information which results in more support throughout the nation.  Yet people are beginning to confuse advocacy with activism and claiming to be something that they are not.  I have been able to learn about this movement through social media and I consider myself an advocate for black respect and protection, but I would not consider myself an activist on the matter.

     An advocate is someone who supports are particular cause and is there to back the movement.  An activist is someone who fully engages themselves with the matter and openly moves to fight for their cause.  Activists actually has active in the word, and to be that shows what it means to be one.  They are the people who go to protests, participate in sit-ins, and sometimes put themselves at risk for their cause.  Advocacy just means supporting the people who do this.  Twitter hashtags are meant for advocates to learn and spread as well as for activists to share their experiences.  Advocates on twitter are safe, hidden behind their screens, where as activists put themselves right into the front lines.  In my opinion, activists are the ones who truly make a difference in the end.  There is very rarely an advocate that receives the credit for the success of the cause.  Martin Luther King Jr. was an activist.  He organized peaceful protests and stood at the front lines and stood in the face of danger.  An advocate would have been someone who supported his cause, but were too scared to go out for fear of judgement or danger.  However, I do not mean that advocacy is a bad thing.  In order to have activists that make a change, there must be advocates that back them up.

     Gladwell uses the Greensboro diner sit-ins during the 1960s as an example to support his argument that there is a different between the two, which is directly linked to social media.  During these sit-ins, black college students sat at the whites only portion of the diner and refused to move.  Over several weeks the movement spread to most of the nation and students everywhere were participating in the demonstration.  This is activism.  People left their homes and did not social media to hide behind.  In order to make a difference, they had to go out and show what they believed should be right.  Today, if this were to happen again, the message could be spread to a larger mass of people, but if one were to scale those who actually showed up for the sit-in in the past to that of today, there would be far less people going out to take a stand.  The movement would be supported through a hashtag, but people now are scared and hide behind social media.
     One of my favorite musical artists, Passenger, has a line from one of his songs that was stuck in my head as I read Gladwell's opinion on the inactive participation that is shown through hashtags.  The line comes from his song, Scare Away the Dark, in which he says, "We want something real not just hashtags and twitter."  This is what I believe to be a call to activism since it is calling people to make the hashtags have a meaning and actively fix the problem, rather than typing words safe behind a screen.  I do not mean to sound as though advocacy is negative, but many people claim to be activists when in reality they are not.  Many people want the title but not the potential consequences that come with the name.  Advocacy is a powerful thing that can encourage many people to fight for what they believe, but we must recognize the difference between advocacy and activism.

The Power of Reading

     The other day when I was looking through the October 26th edition of The New Yorker magazine, I stumbled upon this picture.  It is an image of a man reading a book with a galaxy expanding behind him.  One quality that I really love about this image is that it can be interpreted many different ways, and the more that one looks at it, the more meanings there are to discover.  It can be seen as God thinking up the universe, or even a man who lives among the stars with the sun as his light.  It is truly up to the reader's interpretation to identify what the hidden meaning is.

     I believe that this image is meant to show the power of reading.  Reading can take a person to an entirely different world.  Each word provides another detail to add to the ever growing image of the situation a person is reading.  Reading also allows creative interpretation.  Each person who reads a book, a magazine, or even a newspaper can have a different vision of the events described.  This has always been one of my favorite pastimes.  Reading encourages people to have independent thoughts.  No one can force another person to see something a certain way when reading is up to interpretation. To me, this image provides readers the same type of experience as reading words does.  One can create an entire world for this man to live in.  Maybe he too is creating a world for another person.

Reading is a magical pastime which has the ability to transport one to another world, or even create an entire galaxy from a blank space.

Am I a Bad Feminist?

     Feminism can mean many different things to many different people.  In Roxanne Gay's essay titled Bad Feminist, she discuses how difficult it is to accept the table of a feminist when there are so many negative connotations that come with it.  I myself am a feminist, but often times I agree with Gay's stance on feminism.  She says that there is a "notion that there are right and wrong ways to be a feminist."  To me, some feminists often contradict themselves.  They say be who you want to be, do not be forced into something you do not want to do, and stay true to yourself and do not act a certain way for other people.  But at the same time, they shame woman for wearing dresses, or wanting to have children, wearing make-up for themselves or even for complements, and many of the feminists who look down on woman for doing things such as these also do not include trans-women, women of color, and even men in their form of feminism.  These are the feminists who cause feminism to have a bad reputation and scare others away from identifying as feminists.
     Feminism is supposed to be the belief of the equality of the sexes, however, these women who reject and look down upon others taint the true meaning of feminism.  People have begun to believe that feminism puts men above women, rather than the two being equal.  Gay acknowledges this misconception and explains how it prevents her from taking on the true title of a feminist.  Instead, she simply calls herself a "bad feminist."  I believe that people like Gay who identify as "bad feminists" are often the one's with the true meaning of feminism at heart.  Feminism should not be a shameful title or a derogatory term.  It has been mocked and ridiculed and even turned into a joke.  The fake movement of "meninism," which takes the things that feminists fight for and warp them into something that further puts men below women.  Men should not be fighting against women, especially when feminism is meant to benefit them as well.  Men are held to unrealistic standards just as women are, but the opposite of what women are supposed to be.  Women are portrayed as over emotional, so men are "supposed" to never cry or show any emotions.  Feminism is not a one sided battle.  It is meant to improve the perception of both men and women, and some feminists scare people so much that they never even bother to look up the true meaning of feminism.

     The type of feminism that has scared Gay and many others away is also often not inclusive.  The rights of transgender women or disabled women are not fought for for nor supported.  The problems facing women of color are overlooked and swept aside.  Feminists who are LGBTQ are rejected by these elite women.  They hold themselves above other people and exclude those who do not fit their standards of a "perfect feminist."  Gay states that this form of essential feminism "suggests anger, humorlessness, militancy, unwavering principles, and a prescribed set of rules on how to be a proper feminist women."  Not only does this show how there is still negativity within the feminist movement, but it also provides a stereotype to be placed on other people.  Both men and women are immediately seen as angry or crazy when they introduce themselves as feminists.  These elite feminists are the ones who are dragging out the process of expanding the feminist movement.  In order to gain true equality of the sexes, feminists need to stop fighting each other first and focus on the bigger picture.
     Feminism to me is being yourself and being respected and respectful of everyone.  As long as the person is true to themselves, it should not matter what they do or how they do it.  Women can not wear make-up, or wear it for themselves, or even wear it for men.  This is the type of feminism that both I and Gay support.  Gay addresses the feminists that go against this belief throughout her essay, but in my opinion the best quote (which in a sense is also the saddest) is, "... I also want to be myself. Bad feminism seems like the only way I can both embrace myself and be myself."  I too would rather identify as a bad feminist, despite completely supporting the feminist movement.    It saddens me that feminism has been warped in a way that defeats the purpose of the entire movement.  I once had an entire argument with a friend about feminism where he said he was an "equalist" because he believed we should all be equal.  I had to explain to him that feminism and what he was describing was the same then.  He said that the thought that feminism put women above women and crazy women mistreating men.
     Despite the harmful misconceptions, I will still identify as a feminist.  Each and every person who joins the feminist movement with the true goals of feminism at heart, the true message will eventually shine through.  One person may not make a large difference instantly, but over time they will make a difference to the people surrounding them.  The more people they spread the true message to, the more the authentic feminism will spread.  I completely agree with what Roxanne Gay stated throughout her essay, and I appreciate how it reveals the internal conflict with stepping up and identifying as a feminist.

It's Time To Switch Things Up

I love Disney movies just as much as any child does, if not more.  However, I am not blind to the fact that these movies do have negative aspects and are not nearly as perfect as they seem to be.  The article we read titled, Esacpe From Wonderland: Disney and the Female Imagination, was written by Deborah Ross where she critically analyzed classic Disney movies to find each questionable little detail within them.
     Some of Ross's "evidence" seemed forced and almost as unrealistic as the things she was accusing Disney of.  However, I will commend Ross on defending her argument as well as the amount of research she put into this article.  She provided the evidence then explained why she believed it was wrong of Disney and scrutinized every little detail.  I do agree with her in some areas of her argument, most especially in the area that Disney's messages contradict themselves.  Ross did not use one specific example when discussing these "contradictory messages," but I can see these mixed signals in most Disney movies.  The biggest contradiction is for girls to be unique and brave, but in the end they submit to the male influences in their lives (most often in the form of marriage).  This includes my favorite movie of all time, Mulan.  Mulan disguises herself as a man in order to join the Chinese military to save her father and bring honor to her family, which not only breaks the stereotype but also is highly against the law and is punishable by death.  She defies everything expected of a woman during this time period, but once you analyze this movie with a critical lens, things begin to change.  In Mulan, the message can be seen that being male is ideal and that women have very little worth compared to men.  The only time Mulan is listened to is after she dresses as a man, and once she reveals herself as a woman people once again ignore her.  In order to prove that she is equal to a man, she literally has to single handily save all of China.  Mulan is problematic because it encourages the idea that being male is ideal.  That does not stop be from loving this movie, but it just disappoints me that things are not as perfect as Disney makes them out to be.

     This article makes both valid and useless points.  I did not particularly enjoy reading this, but it did make me think about movies more critically.  However, there was one line of writing that really stood out to me and seems to me as Ross's only truly profound point.  When analyzing Alice in Wonderland, she says that, "Writing a story, [Alice] has decided, is much safer than living one."  This not only applies to Alice in Wonderland, but almost all other Disney movies where girls are encouraged to be unique, but are restrained to stay at home.  In each movie the princess starts off with large goals and dreams, which she soon forgets once the male hero comes into the picture.  Ross proves this when picking apart The Little Mermaid, especially in the song "Part of Your World."  In "Part of Your World," Ariel reveals her goals and desires, none of which include a man.  However, once she sees Eric, she forgets all about the original reasons she wished to be human.  I believe that this one line of writing was more effective than the rest of Ross's article combined.

     Ross forced me to acknowledge the problems with Disney, but that does not mean that I completely hate Disney and will boycott their movies for the rest of my life.  The targeted audience for these movies (young children) would not be anazylzing each little line of diaouglouge as Ross has.  The problems pointed out would not brainwash children since these problems are subtle and they would not see them unless they were looking for them.  That does not mean that Disney does not need improvement and more representation.  So far, Disney movies have been overwhelmed with the culture of power and the stereotypical "hero" often fits the esription of SCWAMP perfectly.  Disney needs to switch things up in order to make them more realistic.  They are somewhat stuck in the past beliefs of the world and need to get with the times.  Soon, I hope to see more LGBTQ representation, more people of color (heros, princesses, princes, and villains alike played by POC), more people with different forms of mental illness, more feminism, people with handicaps, those with different religious and cultural beliefs (accuratly depicted), and basically more representation every person that does not fit the societal "norm."  Disney has many things that they can improve upon, but that does not take away from the happiness that their movies provide people.  I have grown up with these movies and while I do awkaowledeg there faults, they are not completely bad.
     In response to Deborah Ross's article, I do agree with her in the fact that Disney does need to change and get with the times.  However, I do not agree with her irrational argument.  She over analyzed and looked way too deeply into things so much so that some aspects of her arguemnt seems so forced that they lost meaning.  I did not enjoy this article but it does bring to light some real problems with such a beloved company.

What If...

     What Ifs make up most of my life.  What if I get a bad grade? What if my grades drop? What if I do not get into a good college? What if I do not get a good job? What if I fail at everything?  Junior year so far has consisted of predominantly "What if.." questions.  Especially now that I am really looking into what I wish to do in the future and where I am going to go to college.  

     This past long weekend I went to visit a college.  This was the second time I went to visit a school, and I am going to another school this weekend.  Many people have questioned why I am looking so seriously this early on, but What Ifs are driving me to begin my search now.  I believe that the largest What If I am facing with college is, "What if I think this is the place for me but it is not?"  When coming to Saints I knew that I found the place where I belong.  Now with college, there are even more places to condor, and I am scared that I will make the wrong decision.  I have a friend that was completely set on one school and claimed that they would love it, and just transferred to another school.  What if this happens to me in college?  What if I choose the wrong career path and regret it later?  

     So many What Ifs surround college for me, and while looking early does little to help me relax, for me it is better than cramming it all to the end of Junior and the entirety of Senior year.  As much as I dislike the constant questioning of What Ifs, I know that these worst case scenarios are what make me into the person that I am.  What Ifs do not only apply to college for me, but surround me every day.  What if I don't put every possible answer in my homework? What if I am not writing enough? What if I let everyone down?  Majority of my questions surround school.  In particular, today we took the PSATs.  In my previous blog I already discussed how much I dislike standardized testing, but I still want to preform well.  Before, during, and after the test my mind was filled with these annoying questions.  However, these types of thoughts keep me from slacking off too much and not focusing on what I need to do.  I also have great friends that know exactly how to handle my What If rants.

     Lots of What Ifs await me in the near future with my continuation of the college search, but I know that if I use these to my advantage, the negativity of the What Ifs will morph into positive things and continue to push me to work to the best of my ability.

"Putting the Test to the Test" with John Oliver

     Recently in class we were assigned to watch John Oliver, from Last Week Tonight, discuss standardized testing in the modern age.  Oliver discusses the negative affects that have begun to take place in the modern age in standardized testing.  I myself do not support standardized testing.  This form of testing is for the sole purpose of comparing students to one another, and not to learn.  However, a test to compare is not wrong, but doing poorly on a standardized test often has negative results for both teachers and students.  John Oliver is correct in the fact that standardized tests today can almost be comedic.
     This test has articles and stories that do not make sense and answers that are wrong.  Oliver uses the example of a story on the test involving a talking pineapple.  This story confused both students and teachers.  However, the students are forced to sign a contract stating that they will not discuss any of the questions or answers with anyone.  This seems like a simple anti-cheating statement, but a loophole then prevents students and teachers from approaching others with the incorrect or confusing testing questions.
     Even intelligent people preform poorly on the tests, including adults.  Oliver uses a clip of a highly intelligent man who states that he did not do well on the test and was confused by many of the questions.  These tests do not judge a persons intelligence, they are simple used for large companies to profit off of the test and different forms of test prep.  In response to this, testing officials overcomplicate their excuses to make it seem that they are the innocent ones.  However, when John Oliver plays these clips of the officials, he then simplifies it to reveal what they are truly saying.  I believe that this was his strongest form of persuasion.  He is able to take actual videos of officials saying warped and wrong things, then simplifying it and showing listeners that what they are saying proves that standardized tests are wrong.
     John Oliver uses the power of persuasion since he attempts to move his listeners to be against standardized testing and to show them how harmful these types of tests can be.  He also persuades readers when discussing the statistics of the test.  These test originated from America getting low scores worldwide.  However, instead of bringing the scores up, due to the extreme amount of standardized tests implemented, the scores have been dropping lower and lower.  Many people are already against standardized tests, but John Oliver states the main facts and brings up they key points with supporting examples.  In my opinion, the strongest example of how harmful these tests are on everyone comes in the story of a teacher who was penalized for his student getting a perfect score.  His student was predicted to earn a score above the possible highest score.  Since she preformed below there projected score, the teacher received less pay, despite her getting the highest possible score.

Each Personality Type Is Important

     The other day in my AP Language class we watched a video titled, "The Power of Introverts." In this video, a woman named Susan Cain (who is an introvert) discussed the need for society to adapt to the needs of introverts as well as extroverts.  I really support each of her points and she created a good foundation for further thinking.

     Very often, people do not realize that introverts experience things differently than extroverts,  Everyone has their own way of being social and having fun.  Since introverts have these different feelings, they are often forced out of their comfort zone in order to be more accepted.  Susan Cain brings up her own life when she discusses becoming a lawyer on wall street rather than a writer.  With this story, she proves the point that introverts are forced out of their comfort zone into what is believed to be a normal personality type.  This normal sense is created by the extroverts.  Extroverts are the ones who are more frequently heard, so of course they would be the ones for people to compare themselves to and for people to compare others too.  The people who are the most frequently heard are the ones who determine how things are run (this really reminds me of the points we brought up with SCWAMP).

     Being an introvert is very different than being shy, and it is often a misconception that the two types of people are interchangeable.  An introvert is not necessarily shy, they just thrive in an independent setting.  However, this misconception is most often seen in schools and places of work.  These places are created for extroverts and their need for stimulation.  Even small things such as the arrangement of desks affect the way that people work.  Group work is forced, even in the fields where group work seems impossible since those subjects are based on independent work.  Sadly, teachers have begun to believe that extroverts are the better students, despite introverts being proven to get better grades.  I very strongly agree with Susan Cain when she says that people need to understand the solitude is often a key element in the creative process.  Without independent thinking, is anything truly creative?

    Extroverts do not realize that at times in leadership duties, they can shut down other peoples ideas and begin to force people to put their own look on things.  Introverts allow people the opportunity to expand upon their ideas and improve.  However, both groups of people are equally important when advancing our society.  Many types of problems are currently facing our society, and both introverts and extroverts must learn to work together in order to solve them.  This is why I agree with Susan Cain when she says that people should brainstorm and form their own options independently, then come together as a group to compare and discuss different possibilities.  Subconsciously, people are persuaded to agree with the person who is well spoken in a group, even if their statement is outlandish and illogical.  If people form their own options then later collaborate, each person has the opportunity to form their own independent option, then later learn different ways of thinking.  This is good for both introverts and extroverts.  The beginning process is good for introverts to get their thoughts together as well as for extroverts to form their own options.  Then, the group work helps the extroverts to experience the stimulation that they thrive off of and introverts can hear different takes on a particular subject.

    Susan Cain's speech was not created to argue, but to persuade people to consider ways to include and make introverts just as comfortable as extroverts.  I really enjoyed that Susan Cain not only discussed the things that needed to be adjusted, but also gave a few examples as to how to make things more suitable for each type of person.  Each personality type brings their own strengths to a group, and if the needs of each type of person are met, great things can begin to happen.  Through Susan Cain's speech, people are persuaded to think deeper about our places of work and how to create a suitable environment which promotes both teamwork and independent creativity.  Cain was not arguing with anyone, she was simply bringing up valid points.  Not all writing is meant to argue and persuade.  Lots of forms of writing are meant to entertain or to inform; not everything must become a debate.  

    I myself am an ambivert.  An ambivert is someone who falls right in the middle of the introvert and extrovert scale.  After watching this video, I decided to take a quiz to determine where I fall within the spectrum.  With 1 being a total introvert to 100 being an extreme extrovert, I fall at the center at 51.  If you too wish to take this placement test it can be found here.  Also, I found another short video that shows what being an introvert or an extrovert really means.