Reflection on poem 2

Report from the Front – Heather Davis

Reflection

“Report from the Front” is a poem about an older (assuming) sister who is trying to teach and protect her younger sister about love and sex. As she urges her sister not to have sex with “skater boys” and how sex is like an “unexploded bomb,” the younger sister is rolling her eyes and really not listening or taking in what she is trying to say. As an older sister, I can relate to having similar conversations with my sister and seeing her simply shrug off what I am saying. It’s very frustrating because I, like the author, am just trying to protect my sister from harm that I have experienced. Then when I realize that I am not getting through or she is not listening- I think we just have to face the facts (or in this case, urge her to use protection). Though this is something that is often hard to do because as Davis says, it’s like reminding her to wear a “rosary,” its something that we are facing as a society. I think the reason many younger girls don’t listen to the advice, besides immaturity and being of a young age, is because of society’s image of what represents the “popular” girl” and the increasing need for self-approval. Young girls thrive on a guy’s approval and need to feel wanted especially if they are not receiving any attention at home. If they are not getting that attention, which is a huge need/reason for their behavior, they are more likely to become promiscuous and put themselves in dangerous situations. From experience at least with my younger sister, I have found that if I am trying to get a point across or educate her about something, it is best to use a personal example or story. Explaining what I did, why and the results allow her to understand where I am coming from and why I don’t want her going through the same thing. I feel if we just tell young girls or anyone to not do something without a reason, we might as well tell them to do it. People can learn from other’s mistakes or experiences, so its best to just be open and honest in order to prevent unwanted behavior.

Reflection on poem 1

No More – Princess of Controversy

Reflection

In the poem “No More” by Princess of Controversy she tackles the African-American culture and urges them not to be a statistics or fit the stereotypes of what many think of in regards to being Black. Her primary focus was young black girls who have grown accustomed to such low standards and abuse that they tolerate anyone and become caught up in what society or music videos say they should be. She urges girls to say “No More” or in my opinion, not be a statistic of being a “baby mama,” leading a promiscuous lifestyle, or tolerating abuse. Additionally, in order to not be a statistic, she says that mothers need to show more affection to their daughters and let them know how special they are and fathers need to spend time with their daughter so they won’t try to “search for a daddy in another man.” Once girls understand how important they are and to love and value them selves, then she can “truly love a man.” I couldn’t agree more with this belief. I think teenage girls are facing so much pressure and stereotypes, that it is easier to go along with the crowd and claim that you don’t care. For example, she says “No more baby mamas screaming that they proud to be,” no one should be proud of being a baby mama by a guy who already has three others. Nor should girls try to be video “vixens” in order to receive the type of attention that they want from guys. Instead, girls need to have more self-respect and understand who they are as a person and their worth. Doing so, they won’t have low standards, tolerate abuse or settle for just any guy, but recognize their worth and know that they deserve the best.

Who I Am

Who I Am

I am a young bi-racial woman

I am a daughter, a sister, a best friend, a mentor, and lover

I am a believer in Christ and know that through him anything is possible

I am driven, focused, and determined to be successful

I am a hard worker, passionate about my education, career, and family

I am a young bi-racial woman

I am optimistic yet a realist, I know that I can’t control everything

I am a product of a teenage pregnancy, a young mother who fought to raise me with good morals and values

I am loved yet misunderstood, everyone thinks they “know” the real me

I am a believer in love, even though I’ve been through my fair share of heartbreaks

I am a real and curvaceous woman, proud of every dimple and extra fat

I am a young bi-racial woman

I am music, when you can’t find the right words, turn to me

I am home, a familiar place with familiar faces, no matter where you go- I’ll be there

I am a bright red lipstick, classic and bold

I am like the beach in the summer, filled with energy and good times.

I am a first kiss against the locker in the hallway, something you’ll never forget

I am a young bi-racial woman

The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours

The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours

If you had to give one piece of advice or guidance to someone you cared about most, what would you say? In Marian Edelman’s The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours, she answers this tough, yet important question. A book filled with inspiration for not only her children but for everyone else and their children, Edelman addresses twenty-five lessons for life. As a child who grew up valuing family, education, her faith, and most importantly, service to others, Edelman is a prime example of someone to learn from in a society that faces racial, economic, and many other challenges daily.

One of the key themes present throughout the small, thin paperback is the importance of giving. Whether it is giving love to your children and thy neighbors or providing some type of service to your community members or “extended family” as Edelman speaks of, providing some type of philanthropic service is a crucial necessity of our society. Growing up with a family who values giving to others before themselves, has obviously been a key value that has been passed down from generation to generation. We must all look out for each other and focus less on what we do not have. I believe we are all guilty of being selfish in a way that we think that what happens in our community doesn’t affect us, but it really does, even if in small ways. For example, Edelman stresses the importance of children having extracurricular activities and the necessary services in order to prevent them from engaging in such easy activities like drugs and gangs. Think about how easy it is for a child to become an active in any of these? Without the nurturing and love provided by not just the family but the community as well, the chances of a child becoming involved in one of these “families” are increasing everyday.

Though everyone knows the importance of giving, many don’t. And when we see someone who goes above and beyond or who practices general courteous mannerisms, we recognize them with a “Good Humanitarian Award.” Though this award is intended to increase citizen’s service to others, as Edelman says, its pretty sad that everyday manners that we all possess are not practiced often and are looked as something we have to do, rather than something that should be second nature. With that said, it is ever most important that parental guidance and community activism is practiced. In my own family, I have witnessed my mother go out of her way to help another, and a father who has raised a child, myself, who he did not bear, as his own. Acts of kindness such as these go a long way in another’s life. We become more thankful for those around and what we have, rather than what we need. Simple life lessons like these that my parents have taught me are lessons that I continue to strive and grow from.

Another theme that Edelman stresses throughout her lessons is the importance of not holding grudges but focusing on personal growth and responsibility. I have always believed in not holding grudges, but have found this easier said than done. With that said, I believe in forgiveness firstly. In order to grow we must learn from others and ours mistakes. Throughout the book, Edelman discusses the many struggles the Black community has faced but how these struggles should not hold them back nor make them want to seek revenge (no matter how justified one may feel). This lesson was so important to me because I feel that a lot of people tend to live in the past in a negative way. Though slavery is negative in all aspects, it is something that brought an outstanding amount of pain yet leaders in harsh conditions. Blacks like many minorities, value the everyday options many European decedents take advantage of. However, simply comparing that one factor does not make one race better than the other. What it does, however is teach each race for being grateful for what they have (not what they feel is owed simply because of a color one was born with). No one chooses the colors they are born in, yet for centuries we have separated and cast away one by one, who are unlike thy self physically. Growing up as a mixed child in the 90’s, I am thankful for what I have and for the decreased amount of obvious discrimination that those before me saw. Though discrimination has decreased, it’s still there with all of its ignorant teaching. What’s important to me is focusing less on how it is viewed but how I am acting as a person. Am I acting like a good person, do I practice what I preach? Questions like these are what I ask myself.

I am ever the most grateful for how continually welcoming and adapting our society is growing to be. In previous years, we resisted interracial relationships, but I am a product of one. In previous years, we resisted that another darker race eat more little sit with us, but our own president is a minority. Though our country is not perfect, we are more tolerable of differences, which is important for a nations success.

The Measure of Our Success is a book that I would highly recommend because it makes one question what they value and the need to act on those values. We must commit to doing rather than just believing. If we feel that all people should be treated equally, we must begin so in the home. The home is the foundation for lessons to be learned and practiced; however how we act outside the home is the true test. Acting on one’s values and practicing our own faiths and good doings, is only way to achieve success. And though it is easier said than done, the reward is well worth it in the end. Whatever religion you believe in or whether you don’t believe in a religion, believe in the good of people. At our core, humans are not born evil, yet are taught. Know that one small act of kindness can make another’s day or lifetime. After all, what harm can from helping another in a positive way?

The Covenant In Action Reading

The Covenant In Action

The Covenant in Action reading looks at four different stories/strategies used to communicate the need for communities (specifically, the African American) to work together and overcome challenges that are faced daily. Though each story tells of a different challenge, each advocates the need for a change, whether it is within society itself or its citizens. Each additionally stresses how just one person can make a difference if not in the world, but starting with just one person or family.

There were two stories that I found to be the most powerful. The first, entitled “Helping the Homeless Through NAPS,” was about an organization that began with a group of college students feeding the homeless. Though it’s original mission began with helping the homeless, it has expanded to “alleviating hunger, poverty, and disease; and to improve education and food security among suffering people, both nationally and internationally…” What separates this organization from ones we typically hear about is there motto “we don’t just send relief, we hand deliver it with love and care.” I feel that in today’s society it is much easier and convenient to give monetary goods rather than one’s personal time. However, though each offering is appreciated, what real lessons and values are learned from giving money? In essence, not many. Yes, money is necessary to provide the tools and services needed to take care of those in need, but giving one’s personal time goes so much further. When you help another in need, you learn what it means to give. Your own personal outlook on life and what it means to “help” is often altered. I have volunteered and given money, but what remains with me the most is the lessons and values I learn while actually working with another. I can give money and not really think about how it’s helping out another person or I can be there witnessing it. Seeing how your actions positively help another, are feelings and experiences that cannot be replaced nor forgotten, unlike the feeling one receives when simply giving money that can be forgotten about within a week.

The second reading that I felt conveyed a strong message was “Education Plus Action Equals Change.” In this reading, the author talks about the black and white family’s statistics in regards to net worth and when buying luxurious goods. He then talks about how he went to a financial empowerment seminar where many voiced their financial concerns over lack of money. Then the next day, he see’s a familiar face from the seminar, standing in line at a shoe store. When he approaches and reintroduces himself, he asks why she was there and in which she replies “They are releasing the new Jordan’s and I wanted to purchase them for seven year old child.” Immediately, I thought wow, here you are complaining about money then you are buying your child new shoes-you wonder why you are in debt? Frankly, this isn’t surprising to hear about though. Many people possess a wealth of knowledge but don’t act upon it. This reading, appropriately titled, reinforces the message that we need to be applying the knowledge that we continually gain. If we don’t, then how can we expect change? I fully believe knowledge plus action equals power. The African-American community, specifically, has learned from years for fighting for justice and equal rights, that to be educated is the best gift and tool in life. To simply make sure your child happy by buying them the newest Jordan’s, is instilling in them the wrong values. We need to teach them the values of a dollar and what it means to help others instead of indulging in our wants. My grandfather always told me that no matter what I did in life, I needed to have a good education because it was something that no one could ever take away from me. This is so true. You can’t take away knowledge learned but you can abuse it. And by abuse it, I mean not applying it towards your life and daily actions needed to make the necessary changes.

The Covenant in Action readings showed me how important it is to help others and the importance of learning in order to grow and see the changes that are needed in today’s society. As citizens, we have the responsibility to help those that are less fortunate but as individuals we have the responsibility to be the change that we want to see.

Toby's Cultural Self Portrait Reflection

My Mother’s Daughter: Three Generations of Womanhood

What is a cultural legacy, or better yet a cultural self-portrait? In Toby Jenkins essay on My Mother’s Daughter: Three Generations of Womanhood, she examines what it means to be African American by looking at the lives of her grandmother and mother. What separates this paper from typical reflective biographies is how she separates herself from those before her. Colored, Negro, and African American are the three distinctive titles that separate the women but are yet what provide her sense of culture and self identity. This essay defines one woman’s outlook on life, culture, and the significance of remembering where you came from.

When I first looked at my professor’s Cultural Self Portrait, I Immediately thought wow this is an extensive biography about one’s culture and self. I thought it would be quite drug out and simply boring in the least. But after reading the first few sentences, I learned that my predictions were incredibly incorrect and that this essay was more than a biography but an examination of what it means to have your culture shape who you are. It’s quite interesting how she separates the three different cultures into the decade in which the appropriate term was used, Colored, Negro and African American.

Within each chapter, the reader learns about how the women of the family continue to strive and grow and adapt to society’s role, while placed under the most scrutiny of being the minority race. In Colored, which describes the grandmother’s life, we learn about not knowing the specific date in which one was born, being scared of the unknown, and overall the separation between blacks and whites. In the Negro Woman, which features the author’s mother, desegregation is the central topic. She speaks of having to walk to school (up to 6 miles), the introduction to television, her parent’s work ethic and the all too familiar feeling of being seen as unequal and inferior when compared to whites. In the African American, which is the author’s view, we learn about how a young woman who is different yet quite similar to her past generations. She quotes “My grandmother was a wife in her mid-teenage years, my mother at age nineteen, and I am still unmarried. By twenty eight my grandmother had five children, by thirty my mother had two, and at thirty-two I still have none” (Jenkins). Though child bearing is an important distinguishing factor, she speaks of having continued to higher education (having three degrees), and other factors that separate the generations.

Though each chapter focuses on each woman’s different role and view of society, there are overarching themes that are present. Firstly, school, family and God are all significant values that are passed down throughout the generations. Family has provided support and the necessary encouragement needed. Academics and achievements are looked upon highly as something necessary to further ones’ self and promote equality between the races. Lastly, God and the spiritual faith have continued to be the higher calling and prayer needed within the daily challenges society places against all races.

What I have learned through this Cultural Self-Portrait is the need to understand what and who has shaped the person I am today. Most reflective essays that I have done in the past, haven’t focused on the generations before me in regards to what has made them who they are. My goal was then to attain the basic information, who, what, where, and when, but never really why. This cultural self-portrait answers the most important question and that is why. Yes, the others are important as well but understanding another’s background, provide the foundation needed to understand one’s self.

Everyone’s family history is unique and different. My professor describes her history as being a black individual faced against society’s challenges, but my own is much different. I am young biracial woman who derives from two of the most opposing races, black and white. Because of my upbringing, education, and my peers, I see things differently than a person who was “whole” in either race. As a pro, I have always been able to see both sides’ points of view, but as a con, I am often asked to choose which race I prefer or favor. I often find myself wishing that we could all be biracial, to avoid racial discriminations, but as humans if we were the same race, one would always find something to separate against. So my wish is merely a hope. Being Biracial has been a wonderful blessing and I am continually grateful for being born in a time where I don’t have to choose to sit with blacks or whites, but rather both. Yes, there will always be judgments and challenges but these are things that every race has to deal with. In my opinion, oppression does not see color. We all can be oppressed in ways that are the up most obvious to those and then obscure to others. What is most important is how we handle it and what we learn from it.