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.