AOD 1/30/17

Revenge

This poem by Elisa Chavez was very shocking to me. The poem was so elaborate and dealt gave opinions on so many issues at once, I did not know where to begin dissecting it. Elisa in this poem talks about the issues of: gay vs. lesbians, gun control, generational terms, mixed races, suicide and much more. Elisa in this poem uses very bold statements about what she believes and how she believes the world can conform. In one line she tells, "Because real talk, you didn’t stop the future from coming. You just delayed our coronation." This line really stuck out to me. It sounded as if Elisa was stating that she could not be stopped. She sends a message that what is going to happen will, as the world changes, and as the world's view change. This article made me feel very anxious. I think the political environment is what motivated Elisa to write along with her personal experiences. After reading this, I have many questions about where she first read this? What does she mean she doesn't feel alive right now? I have many questions about what Elisa was thinking while writing this piece.

My Topic of Interest

Refugees

The topic I've decided on is Refugees. I decided on this topic because of all I have seen on this topic lately in social media and also because of all those I know who are personally involved. One of my best friends named Cassidy lives in California, and has had the chance to work with refugee kids through a ministry in San Diego. She explained the eye opening experience to me and told of how we really take our freedoms for granted. One quote she shared states: "The President can lock refugees out but he can't lock out love in." This was quoted by Jeremy Courtney. I also the other day saw  a post on refugees which included a picture of a father holding his child, a look of complete horror and sorrow on his face. The caption read: "It's often important to see the humanity in our actions." These two posts really hit me in the face. I think often times, we do forget that these people are people just like us. They are humans. Humans who need all the same things we do. Human who deserve a place of safety and a place to flourish and have the lives they deserve. I feel very strongly about this topic and would love to learn more about the specifics of the issue.

AOD 1/25/17

The 3 A's of Awesome 

My favorite A that Neil talked about was Authenticity. I like how he described this A as being a part of who you are. It's hard for me to think that so many do not truly show who they are in the world we live in. Neil also tells of how this A also incorporates letting your heart lead you. I liked this because often, I make my decisions based off what feels right, and let me heart lead me. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I believe that following your heart can really help you see the value in everyday things. I love his theme which is to have joy in the journey and to not be discouraged. This Ted Talk was by far my favorite.

The N word (Death Sentence)

“Death Sentences”

         For the longest time, I could not think of why this AOD was titled death sentences. Yet now I realize that it refers to sentences in a literal form and how our language can really impact others. As I brainstormed these irresponsible phrases, the one that I could most think of was stereotypes used today in race. Today racial slurs are thrown around as they are normal ways of describing others. Specifically the word I am referring to is the N word. This word is used now in every day talk and used in many songs we hear. Everyone no matter what is exposed to this word in our society today. Every time I hear these words, I do not feel they are appropriate even if they are not used against me. They are often rude and have a naturally negative connotation. The most  I was on twitter today and saw a quote: “Racism isn’t something people are born with, racism is taught.” I thought this was an interesting quote. The picture underneath then showed a picture of a white girl and an African American girl, next to the woman who was white it said beautiful, then next to the woman who was African American, it said ugly. This quote and picture really helped me to see that others often use these terms because they grew up hearing these slang words. This is unfortunate and makes me question on how we can truly stop others from using these words against any race. I also saw a quote that read, “Racism, Ignore it…and it won’t go away.” This was also an interesting quote. Personally, I am passionate about this because I believe everyone should be treated equally and talked about with respect. I believe that every human being deserves this respect for being who they are.

AOD 1/18/17

DeVo's Remarks

        I was astonished as I read this article on Betsy DeVo’s hearing. As I was reading there was much of the school policies I did not know or did not understand. Yet as I researched a bit more and looked at DeVo’s responses I was very interested. After I read the article, I came off with the impression that it seemed DeVo lacked in her experience in education or in a classroom period. This surprised me as she is now a hand picked woman for the education secretary. It seemed  that most questions that were asked DeVo avoided or she simply did not know what to say. At times, I wonder if she was told what to say. She also avoided many questions that attacked her accountability in controlling and helping schools. DeVo also stated that she believed the free market should govern schools. DeVo also stated she believes in certain situations we should have guns in schools which I do not agree with. I do agree though that in order to make schools better we should have more local control, and seek insights from teachers, and students. It did concern me though that when talking about taking away money from public education she refrained from answering. DeVo did stumble and unfortunately I was not as impressed with her as I would’ve liked to be.

AOD 1/23/17

AOD 1/23/17

The quote we were supposed to interpret reads, "...if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought." I think that this is a very interesting because it shows that your thoughts can affect the way you think, and your words can also affect the way you think. I have never thought of language affecting the way you think. I interpret this as that based on what you not only hear but even slight errors in the way you speak can affect how you see something. For example, if I see someone who is clearly a woman and call her a girl, this could change my own thinking and also others thoughts to perceive this woman as a girl. Our language and the way we speak effects us each day. Each day we can form opinions and express them in the way we speak and interact with others. I think often our language also "corrupts" others thoughts. I believe that what we say and how we say it affects how others perceive the concept or idea we are talking about. I also that in how we speak and what we hear leads to action. If we constantly talk negatively I believe this will make us a negative person, because action will become habit. I think this quote overall is very true and that in the long run language does corrupt thought and vice versa.

Article of the Day 1/16/17

 Dare Greatly

          I really enjoyed Brene Brown’s ted talk about shame. I picked up on many different and interesting points she made as to what shame was and to how shame conditions us. She mentioned a quote that I really liked called the man in the arena quote by Theodore Roosevelt, this quote states: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds..” I like this quote because I believe often times we as humans are very judgemental. We see others that are not like us and make harsh judgements from “outside” the arena, when we in reality have no idea what it is like to be the man in the arena. Socially we are conditioned to compare ourselves to others. But that is when Brene points out that our greatest critics is ourselves. Media portrays this as always being better than you were yesterday, or being prettier than the other girl, so on and so forth. I liked her talk because it showed that there is so much more to a person than what is seen on the outside we all have our inner battles. I think she addresses well that we as humans must make a step to be better and dare greatly.

I am statements

I AM

1. I am strong.

2. I am confident.

3. I am excited for my future.

4. I am working to fight for what I want most in this world.

5. I am motivated.

6. I am my father's daughter.

7. I am a volleyball addict.

8. I am an optimist.

9. I am at times afraid to speak.

10. I am seeking a career in elementary education.