Table of Contents

Reflection Mean Boys (Introduction) Mean Boys (Revision) Mean Boys (Revision Original) Think About It! (Introduction) Think About It! (Critical Thinking Piece) American JedI (Audience Awareness & Voice Introduction) American Jedi (Audience Awareness & Voice) Hoarder (Writer‘s Choice Introduction) Hoarder (Writer‘s Choice)

Reflection

     Ola! The name’s Liz Dickson, Elizabeth by birth, but I like ‘em short & sweet! Every time I am asked to say a little about myself, I always have to sit down and take time to truly figure it out because I really don’t know; everyday I learn new things about myself, my identity and I’m constantly changing. God has a very big place in my heart and I put my faith in Him. Another thing about me is that I love change and adventure. Everyday is a new day to explore new and exciting things! I am a live-life-to-fullest kind of girl and I love every minute of it; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

     Things that might give off a sense of me is that I am a mother of two very rambunctious hoodlums, who are 2 and 4, and whom I love with my heart, soul and everything I am. I am a 27 year-old stay at home mom who wants to eventually become a nurse in a birthing unit because I simply adore babies. Now that I did the whole having babies thing, it’s time for the new adventure of these things people call “careers.” My marriage to my high school sweetheart is going on its eighth year. My husband is the love of my life and we are still going strong, regardless of our rough patches. My sisters tease me about having a perfect little nuclear family, with my 2.5 kids and my house out in the country, but I enjoy every moment of it. I believe life is what you make it and no matter how badly the fire blazes out of control, I will always enjoy life. Optimism is key! These are just a few things about me, but they are just tiny parts of who I am.

     English 101D was a very hard class for me because we were supposed to challenge everything that we think and know about identity, community, and tradition. The identity unit was so hard because we were supposed to challenge three assumptions:

1). That identity is what we’re born with.
2). That identity is shaped by culture.
3). That identity is shaped by personal choices.

     Number 3 is what got me; challenging the assumption that we are shaped by our choices. This goes against everything I believe. I know how to think outside the box, but I truly believe that we are what we make ourselves. I really enjoyed all of the readings, but my favorite was by Queen Latifah. In “Who You Callin’ a Bitch?” she says, “A queen, a women with self-esteem, handles adversity with grace” (33). I just loved this quote and it completely inspired me. I did understand what this assignment wanted from me, but I was very reluctant to give it and I think this ultimately hurt my grade.

     When the community unit came around, I was super excited because I love people and everything that we do. I am involved in many areas in many communities, but this turned out to even harder than the last unit. We were supposed to challenge these three assumptions:

1). Communities provide us with a sense of stability.
2). Communities serve our needs.
3). Communities accept us for who we are.

     These are all the main reasons that I love communities! So I know that I was supposed to do by challenging these assumptions, but I really believe these are the main reasons we are a part of communities. In “Our Sprawling, Supersize Utopia,” David Brooks says, “Americans are bound, in all our diversity, by a fruition myth” (191). So, people who do not feel accepted need to go find places where they are accepted. This goes back the identity unit for me because we make our own choices and no one can make us feel anything unless we choose too.

     Now, the tradition unit was fun for me even though the we were supposed to challenge these three assumptions:

1). Traditions are long-standing and static processes.
2). Traditions preserve an authentic version of the past.
3). Traditions promote unity.

     Tradition is such a wonderful topic for me. I really enjoy all traditions and my poor husband and kids are drowning in family traditions, whether they are long standing or I set them up myself for our family. I completely believe that traditions promote unity, but I see how people don’t like to be involved in them. I choose to stick to most traditions, but not everyone has too.

     Also, some traditions should be tweaked because we live in a changing world and almost everything has to change with it. Mostly, the parts of tradition I love are that we get to be together, because that’s really what it’s about, for me at least. I understand not everyone wants to be a part of traditions like that, so they don’t have to be. The traditions like Sarita James had to deal with in “Mom, Dad, Let Me Find My Own Husband,” where her mom and dad wanted her to marry the “suitable boy” and she just wanted to find her one true love were seemingly outdated. Those are traditions that a lot of people would probably like to do away with, but some might welcome the old school traditions.

     I really loved all the blogs because I was able to get my voice out and not be so restricted with my writing. Like the “Remix” book we read; those essays were all very good and they were real people with real voices and without conformity.

     It has unquestionably been challenging for me to hurtle my way through this class, as it was far more confusing than I had anticipated it to be. I know now that writing is an art and it should be free. Some people might view my writing and opinions as those of someone who has conformed to society and that they show a lack of creative thinking, but I choose to see myself and my opinions as simply positive. I have chosen the following pieces to share in hopes that something can be gained from my perspective of the world and the way I choose to see it. My selections include writings which represent who I am and how I write. I hope you enjoy them.

Mean Boys (Introduction)

     The prompt was : “Post two paragraphs. In the first paragraph, identify at least three elements the two essays and writers have in common. These could be ideas, conclusions, kinds of examples, or specific lines. This paragraph is about ideas and evidence. (No use of “I talk” here!) In the second paragraph, talk about the way your own experiences confirm or challenge what you have presented in the first paragraph.”
    
      In this assignment, I did not give any examples of why I thought what I thought in my first paragraph and I should have had proof. My writing looked like I had not even read the assignment! Hopefully, the re-write is better.

Mean Boys (Revision)

     Emily White talks about how high school students are divided into tribes or "cliques" in the first essay, "High School's Secret Life" and how each tribe has a leader. White says the cafeteria is "the place where you find out if you have friends or if you don't. The cafeteria is the place where forms of human sacrifice occur, the merciless rituals of cruelty on which the kids thrive" (15). Lucy Grealy in "Masks” says that kids feel powerful in school, that nothing can hurt them and that they’re the rulers in their own little worlds. “Sometimes kids would make fun of me, run past me, knock my hat off, and call me baldy” (67). Just like White, Grealy gives examples in her essay about kids making fun, laughing and teasing other kids that are different from them. They "thrive," as White says, on hurting other kids and do it to act cool among their own friends. Grealy explains that there are different groups that kids are in while at school, such as loners, preps and the "gang of boys" (18) that go around just bullying the other kids. Both essays show that most schools all have the same type of atmospheres. They all have "cliques" or tribes and that each tribe is different.

     In my high school, it was the same deal with the tables full of boys, except I actually sat at it. I sat at table with 17 boys a ”gang of boys” and they were all pigs. Looking back, I don’t know why I even sat there, probably because I wanted approval from them or wanted them to think I was cool. I would sit there and those boys would make fun of me and other girls in the school through the whole lunch. I always shrugged it off because I didn’t believe any of it.

My mom always asked, “Do you think you're fat?”
Me: “No”
My mother: “Then what's the problem?”

     Can’t argue with that logic! But, there was this one time I went to sit down with all the boys and I missed my chair or they (most likely) moved it. I still don’t know, but I fell on the floor and my book flew in the air, as did my lunch, and not one of them helped me up. There was this nice boy who came from across the lunchroom to help me up and I will never forget that. I didn’t really care because I knew all the other guys laughing were stupid, but it sticks in my mind about how mean kids can be.

Mean Boys (Revision Original)

· Mean kids (boys)
· Being sick
· Being strong
· Wanting to be invisible
· Hiding
· School cliques
· Death
· Observing everyone around
· Fear
      There are three elements that these two essays and writers have in common. Loneliness because they both talk about trying to blend into the crowd and trying to be invisible. Both writers implied they wanted to be someone else because they want a mask to hide behind and they're just not happy with who they are. In both essays, the kids in school are mean and just downright vicious, especially the boys.
　
      In my high school, it was the same deal with the tables full of boys, except I actually sat at it. I sat at table with 17 boys and they were all pigs. Looking back, I don’t know why I even sat there, probably because I wanted approval from them or wanted them to think I was cool. I would sit there and those boys would make fun of me and other girls in the school through the whole lunch. I always shrugged it off because I didn’t believe any of it.
My mom always asked, “Do you think you're fat?”
Me: “No”
My mother: “Then what's the problem?”

      Can’t argue with that logic! But, there was this one time I went to sit down with all the boys and I missed my chair or they (most likely) moved it. I still don’t know, but I fell on the floor and my book flew in the air, as did my lunch, and not one of them helped me up. There was this nice boy who came from across the lunchroom to help me up and I will never forget that. I didn’t really care because I knew all the other guys laughing were stupid, but it sticks in my mind about how mean kids can be.

Think About It! (Introduction)

       I chose this piece, because I think I did a good job of capturing Murad’s “Americanized,” hypocritical nature even though he wasn’t exactly the main character in this film. The movie “AmericanEast” was such a great movie because it really showed so many things that happen within a culture and that it’s all how you choose to respond to it. The prompt was: “My Take—Identify some ways in which the film presents perspectives about identity, communities, and boundaries. You can draw on the questions above if you like.” This was my favorite part of the class and I hope you enjoy my interpretation of this movie and its character.

Think About It! (Critical Thinking Piece)

     This film represents several different identities in the Muslim culture. One character that stood out to me was Murad (played by Anthony Azizi). Throughout the entire movie, he just sat in Habibi’s Café, watched the news, and complained about how awful America was and how badly they were being treated because of their culture and heritage due to 9/11. What I found pretty ironic was that while Murad was belligerent about American’s treatment of his people, he looks as though he’s forgotten what it means to be Muslim. He looks completely “Americanized” in his doo-rags, New Yorker jerseys, oversized pants and “gangster” gold chains, all the while condemning and accusing America of giant government conspiracies against his culture.

     It wasn’t even just Murad’s appearance that made it seem like he was more “American” than Muslim, it was his attitude. He was loud and disrespectful and swore in front of children, while Mustafa was quiet about everything. At the same time that Murad is trying to portray what a vigilante he is and how informed he is of current events regarding Muslims, he seemed ignorant of his own background and culture. Mustafa didn’t seem like a fighter for justice, like Murad supposedly was, but was very adamant about not straying from his cultural roots, which made him into the quiet hero of the movie.

American Jedi (Audience Awareness & Voice Introduction)

     The prompt was: do communities accept us for what we are? What does Brooks say? For this assignment, my audience was obviously the instructors as well as my peers. I believe I answered the prompt very well, with good use of parenthetical documentation from Brooks’ essay. Using correctly selected quotations, as well as showing a humorous side in this essay, I feel that I was able to draw in my readers.

American Jedi (Audience Awareness & Voice)

     Yes, we are accepted by which ever community we choose to be a part of. Depending on which community one chooses, we will be accepted, because that is the whole point of a community, isn’t it? Brooks says: “America, after all, was born in a frenzy of imagination” (Pg. 190). We all dream of being accepted in some way or another and that is why we all seek out a community that will accept us. Whether we want to be a “lesbian dentist,“ a health and fitness nut, a stoner, a stay at home housewife, or an American jedi, there is a community for us. All we have to do is go find it.

     Brooks also says: “This doesn't mean all Americans, or even all suburban Americans, think alike, simply that there is a prevailing current to national life that you feel when you come here from other places with other currents. Some nations are bound, in all their diversity, by a common creation myth, a tale of how they came into being. Americans are bound, in all our diversity, by a fruition myth” (Pg. 191). This means that we are bonded together in any community we select. Communities do accept people of all kinds, especially in America, because America’s reputation is that of a melting pot.

Hoarder - (Writer's Choice Introduction)

       We can all learn so much from the contents of someone’s purse or wallet, I just didn’t know I would learn something new about myself. This essay was my favorite to write because I learned so many new things about myself and my identity. For me, this was such a strong essay because I never realized what I could learn about someone’s identity in such a small item. I always thought you had to know people for years before understanding and learning about who they are, but digging through a stranger’s billfold or purse can at least give you an inkling of the kind of person they are. 

        The prompt was: “What's in your Wallet? Now, take out your own wallet or purse and examine its contents. Following the prompts on page 4, write a one-page profile about yourself, using only the contents you find to represent your life, and post it to your blog. Your profile should answer these questions:

• Taken separately or together, how do the contents of your wallet construct an image of your identity?
• What assumptions might someone make about your personality, values, or identity based on what you carry?
• If all they had to go on is your wallet, what would people miss or be unable to know about you?”

       This was the most exciting essay I got to write, as well as the first essay I’ve written at college level. One of my favorite parts of the paper was: “Someone's final conclusion about me based on my purse and wallet would probably be something like: this is an extremely disorganized pale lady who loves her family, her pictures and will likely be a future candidate for that Hoarders show.” Needless to say, my purse still looks like a war zone.

Hoarder - (Writer's Choice)

     What isn’t in my purse? OK…so I get my purse out to start this paper/blog thing and I am completely floored at the amount of crap I have in my purse. Can we say embarrassing? Assuming that anyone would even try to figure out who’s mess this belongs too, their first thought would be, This women has got to be a hoarder and one of the most disorganized people in the ENTIRE world!
    
     Opening my purse, someone might think, Wow…why does this purse have a small gathered hole to get into it? Just for the record, I have hated this purse forever and think it might be time for a new one. Many, many conclusions would be drawn from this purse. Many things point to motherhood such as a purple hot wheels car, an orange sprocket looking thing, a purple plastic diamond ring and a binky. Did I just say binky? My kids are 2 ½ and 4 ½ and they have been off the binky since they were six months old. Go figure. (She must have boys and girls.)
    
     Neosporin, Band-Aids (yup, she's a mom.) What a minute...are those starry strips? There's hand sanitizer and the normal make up you would see in a woman's purse or make up bag but mine is strung all about my purse. Make-up brushes, black eyeliner, pink lipstick, practically paper white powder (well, we know that this lady has never seen a day of sun in her life), black eye shadow (is she gothic?), chicken poop chap-stick that my mother thought was a hilarious Christmas gift, a little Conair pink facial hair trimmer (Tee hee, she has whiskers.) 

     Headphones, but no I-pod (she might like music), passport, (she travels…what only to Mexico? Wow. That is worst passport picture in the whole wide world), gum, a camera with 483 pictures on it since November (this girl might have a problem and I see that she does have a boy and a girl), and a day-planner with nothing written it. There are keys, three loose keys and two sets of the same keys, which I have actually been searching a month for (yup, she is a mom. The #1 mom star key-chain and key chain with a picture of her son playing soccer confirms it), tacks, paper clips, shot records for her kids, and 15 different pictures of her son and daughter (seems like she takes really good care of her kids.)

     Cards strewn about my purse include: Flying J rewards card, Blockbuster, the Disney movie club, Toys-R-Us, Staples, Entertainment, Build-A-Bear, Best Buy, Craftsman Club card (this lady really like reward clubs), a license to foster parent, seven different credit cards (who in the world needs that many credit cards? And not one expired...why are these just thrown in her purse? This lady really needs to put them in a wallet.) Which brings me to my wallet (is it alive?), that is so stuffed full of coupons and receipts that it's actually ripping at the seams. There is also a vehicle registration certification for a 2001 silver Chevy Impala (totally a mom car).

     The cards that I actually have in my wallet are: a business card for the Evergreen Sinus Center, a Family Fun Membership card to the Children’s Museum (this lady is really into her family), an USAA membership card for a Kurt Dickson (her husband must be in the military, or was), a church bulletin for last Sunday, two different types of health insurance cards, a student ID number to Everett Community College, and finally, a driver's license (how could she find that under all that crap?)

     Someones final conclusion about me based on my purse and wallet would probably be something like: this is an extremely disorganized pale lady who loves her family, her pictures and will likely be a future candidate for that Hoarders show. I think it's time to clean out my purse....