Where's Mom?

This week, we talked about different relationships within our families which I thought was really interesting. It made me thing about how I act and talk with my parents and what kind of relationship we really have. It made me realize that I have a closer relationship with my mom than my dad. We have a really close connection and I can always trust her with my issues. I feel like I always ask her questions that I don't really ask my dad. I'm not sure when this habit started but it's basically pretty similar to the picture below. In general, I think a lot of girls have a stronger relationship with their moms than their dads because our moms can relate to what we go through. My mom knows that I'm 16 and realizes that she doesn't have to watch everything I'm doing. On the other hand, my dad is super protective of me because I'm the youngest girl. He always has to know where I'm going or what I'm doing. He still treats me like a baby and it can be annoying, but I know it's just because he cares about me. Even though I feel like my mom is my "go-to" I know I could trust him with anything also. No matter who I talk to more, I love them both very much. :) 

Leonid Afremov Painting

A brisk fall day in New York.
The woman clad in blue heels
walks down this empty street.
Crisp air whips her solemn face.

Thoughts race through her mind
as the rain lands softly beside her.
Brightly colored leaves fall
creating an endless pathway.

Further and further into isolation.
Her blush colored umbrella keeps her safe
from the outside world.
She walks uninterrupted.

What did she do wrong?
Leaves crunch and break beneath her feet.
The sound distracting her from past mistakes.
Somber, she keeps on walking.

The smells of the city at night,
smoke and street food mixed with rain,
penetrate her dark thoughts.
She does not stop walking.

Grey skies gloom overhead.
Flickering street lights illuminate the dark path.

The tall trees taunt her with every step.

She tries to escape her past.

Tears stream down her face

Mixing with the cold rain.

She doesn't cease to stop.

What did she do wrong? 

She walks on forever.

What did she do wrong?

Marginalization and Isolation

This week in class we read three different pieces, "Champion of the World" by Maya Angelou, "Because My Father Said He was the Only Indian who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play 'The Star Spangled Banner' at Woodstock" by Sherman Alexie, and "Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan. These three narratives all had to do with marginalization and the isolation each author felt from society.
In "Champion of the World", Angelou uses Joe Louis's boxing fight as a symbol for her race's fight against white society. When Louis defeats his white contender, Angelou feels as if it is a win for the entire Black race. For a moment she doesn't feel marginalized anymore. However, at the end Angelou points out that "it wouldn't be fit for a Black man and his family to be caught on a lonely country road". By saying this, she shows she knows that their fight against marginalization is not over.
In Alexie's piece, he talks about how his alcoholic father listened to Jimi Hendrix over and over again. Jimi Hendrix, who was also from a marginalized race, helped Alexie's father deal with the isolation he felt from the rest of society. Sherman Alexie showed how his father dealt with marginalization by taking comfort in those that were also isolated.
Lastly, in "Fish Cheeks", Amy Tan talks about the struggle of coming from a Chinese family but trying to fit in to white society. She is embarrassed by her culture when the minister and his family come to her family's traditional Chinese Christmas dinner. Tan tries to overcome her feelings of isolation by assimilating to the dominant culture. In the end, Tan realizes her foolishness and learns that she needs to be proud of her culture and what makes her different.
Although all these pieces dealt with marginalization, all the authors handled it differently. Showing how marginalization affects everyone in a different way.

Society's Disability

In Nancy Mairs' essay, "Disability" she highlights society's attitude towards disabled people. People think that someone with a disability is only that disability. Mairs aims to disprove this. She talks about how she, like everyone else, "drive[s] a car, talk[s] on the telephone...". By showing that she is just like everyone else, Mairs shows that society separates the disabled for no reason at all. 

Unfortunately, I think society does unknowingly separate handicapped people  For example, my close friend has a brother that is mentally disabled. I don't think anything of it when we are with them, however, I can tell that other people do. When I was in seventh grade, my friend's mom came to pick us up with Alex, her brother. I didn't mind being with him but I noticed that other people were staring. I thought this was sad because it just shows how society isn't accustomed to people with disabilities. Mairs argues that people think that handicapped people are different from the rest of us, and I agree with her. I don't think they should feel isolated just because they have a disability. I think her point was strengthened by the video that Ms. Valentino showed us in class this week.

The video showed the reactions of people to mannequins modeled after people with a handicap. Many stopped to stare, some took photos, while one girl mimicked one of the mannequins. I thought this was kind of sad because it just shows how people think seeing disabled people is strange. They aren't used to seeing disabled people. Unfortunately, Mairs was correct when saying that people with a disability are isolated in society because others can only see the disability, not the person.