Post #4

Reflection on "Breathe" from In the Heights

    When I was a child, I participated in local summer camps because my parents had to work full time. The summer camp was in my town, there was a bus, and my mom qualified for free childcare at the time through this program. The camp wasn't my favorite place to be, but I definitely felt like I belonged with most of the group there. The town I grew up in is full of typically upper middle class families, and the friends I had in school belonged in that category. I had plenty of the same interests as my school friends, but I still felt that disconnect because I knew we didn't have the same socio-economic background. In my summer camp, I made friends that had similar incomes as my own family. All of their parents had to work full time during the summer, sometimes their parents worked more than mine to make ends meet. There was no pressure to feel like I need the newest, most expensive backpack, like how I felt with my school friends as a child. I could just be myself and find people that were going through similar situations. I made some great friends through my summer camp because I was able to connect with them in these ways.I resonate with Nina's words in "Breathe" when she sings, "I am the one who made it out/The one who always made the grade/When I was a child I stayed wide awake/Climbed to the highest place." I have always been a strong student, with the end goal in mind that I will live comfortably in terms of financial status. I grew up watching my mom worry about money, and I still witness it to this day.  Like myself as a child, Nina felt left out because her background was different than the other people she attended college with. 

Connection

   There is a couple of songs that I can think of that have to do with this theme of belonging. I promise to only do it once BUT this time I am going to be representing one of my girl Taylor's songs, "mirrorball." This is one of my favorite songs of hers. Throughout the song, Taylor compares herself to a mirrorball, how she is full of a bunch of little pieces that reveal themselves as whatever is in front of her. She mirrors people to get them to accept her and enjoy her company. I have related to this song at certain points in my life as well. I have asked myself if I have acted a certain way to feel comfortable around specific people or spaces. It's important to remain self-aware and try not to be a mirrorball! 

https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-mirrorball-lyrics

    

    

Post #3

 My Values

    Since beginning to work with children a couple of years ago, I have come to realize what some of my values are in life. My top five values would be honesty, self-expression, accountability, communication, and kindness. I believe that all of these tie together in some way. Some of these values I have had trouble being comfortable with as I have grown up, but I am proud that I hold them today. I am known to the people close to me that I will tell them the truth about anything at all times, usually unprompted. This can be my downfall, but I would rather get something off my chest than bottle it up, and I encourage everyone around me to do the same. Self-expression is definitely one of the values that I have kept with me since I was a child. My mom has raised me to believe that people should be allowed to express themselves in any way they please, as long as it doesn't harm anyone. This goes along with kindness as well for me. Sometimes, we may have prejudgments about someone's appearance/way they express themselves, and that is normal, but it is best to keep it to ourselves unless we have a compliment. I find it so important to compliment as many people as possible, strangers too. You never know when someone is having a bad day, and I know random polite compliments from people can put a smile on someone's face. Accountability and communication are two other values I take seriously within my life. I am quite stubborn, so it can be hard for me to hold myself accountable at times, but it is a skill I have become quite familiar with over time. Saying how we feel to others, respectfully, is also important because nobody is a mind reader! I tell this to the children I work with every day.

Connection

    https://www.motivationalinterviewing.org/sites/default/files/valuescardsort_0.pdf

This guy I follow on TikTok posted this video awhile ago about how important it is to align values in a relationship. He recommended these value cards to look over with a partner an determine which ones you share. I like that these cards have blanks to write down extra values you may have, and I also like that there is little definitions under each value card. These could be a really good YDEV exercise too!

Post #2

  "Color Blind or Color Brave?" Response

    Mellody Hobson's presentation is hopeful, informative, and honest. She tells the audience like it is; we need to learn to live with discomfort. Trying to overlook somebody's race, or any form of someone's identity, is not the right thing to do in a situation. When we embrace everyone's identities, we evolve. Discussing any identity should not be taboo, it simply adds context to any given situation. As Hobson puts it, solving a problem is easier to do when a diverse group is communicating about it. Some of the terms I put in my identity map I may have been embarrassed about in the past or didn't feel comfortable sharing with others. When I listened to Hobson's speech, I was reminded that learning to accept all parts of my identity may be uncomfortable at times. It's important to remember we can be anything, as Hobson said, and to apply this same theory to the peers we come across throughout our lives. 

 

    This AI music judge website was going around on Twitter this week, and I had to try it after seeing the funny comments it had for others. The website links to your Spotify or Apple Music, then formulates opinions on your music taste. I have a pretty basic music taste, and the AI didn't fear telling me this. Obviously the whole website is for fun, but it made me tie this to the topic of identity. Now we have AI understanding how to a part of lot of people's identity, music. The satirical comments though do remind me that somebody will always have something to say about other identities so long as they remain uninformed. Even a robot can judge your identity, so we need to remember we can be anything we want to be (as Hobson says).

    https://pudding.cool/2021/10/judge-my-music/

Post #1

 This Book is Anti-Racist Response

Initial Thoughts

    This Book is Anti-Racist is definitely a good way to break down racism for people that may not understand that certain groups of people are oppressed. The discussion of the 'dominant culture' reminds me of Lisa Delpit's work that I reviewed last semester. Delpit explains this same concept of the dominant culture and what is considered 'normal.' Delpit and the author of this book have that same message; not everybody can fit into the labels/boxes society has created for us. I really enjoy how the author makes the issue personal for the reader by asking them to create an identity map. When we break it down, everybody is made up of so many different characteristics that it is impossible to fit people into specific, straight-edge categories. The identity map activity proves this and makes the reader realize that they, too, cannot fit into a tiny box. 

   

Connections

    Coincidentally, I am reading the book, The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett. I am only about 50 pages into it, but so far, I can see why it is a highly rated book. In the story, there are twin sisters from rural Louisiana that escaped their childhood home for New Orleans at 16 years old. One sister, Stella, ends up leaving the other in New Orleans, and the abandoned sister, Desiree, has a child with a dark-skinned man. When she returns to her hometown, people refer to Desiree's child in racist terms. Meanwhile, Stella is living as a white woman in California in a wealthy family. The theme of identity in this book is obvious, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing where this goes. It is so fascinating how some people are ashamed of their identity when it is the most interesting part about any person. Although there are plenty of reasons that people hide parts of their identity, it is still sad that we live in a world that makes people feel the need to. 

My Identity Map

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1r4XsfyMSlML8zTvMiCt2jTZZpHqCjyZWhq-BHG9t1-c/edit#slide=id.p