For this portfolio, my target audience would be future employers and future deans of graduate schools. I want them to see me as not only professional, but also accomplished and dynamic. I believe that the pieces I include, and will continue to add onto, will convey that to them.
The pieces I want to add are:
Definitely my blog. I don’t mean to boast or sound overly confident, but I really loved my blog posts over the year.
You guuuuuys. This is IT. My final passion blog post. I am actually super heartbroken about this because this was my favorite part of the whole class. I don’t care if Thursday nights were my “hermit days” because I literally spent hours reading poetry and listening to music. That is the most relaxing part about my week. So here it is. The final post. I tried to find a song or a poem that was thoughtful or sentimental, but I ended last semester with something like that and I couldn’t find anything else that I liked. I didn’t want to repeat poets because I’ve done that already, but I did repeat an artist and I have a very good reason why. I am absolutely thrilled for this blog post.
I’m going to be looking at “Life is Fine” by Langston Hughes and “Let the Walls Down” by Randell Milan.
“Life is Fine” was written and published by Langston Hughes in 1949.
I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn’t,
So I jumped in and sank.
I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn’t a-been so cold
I might’ve sunk and died.
But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!
I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.
I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn’t a-been so high
I might’ve jumped and died.
But it was High up there! It was high!
So since I’m still here livin’,
I guess I will live on.
I could’ve died for love–
But for livin’ I was born
Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry–
I’ll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.
Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!
This poem was one of the subtly angry poems I’ve ever read. This poem has this hint of despair in the beginning. The speaker starts off with thoughts of suicide saying “tried to jump but couldn’t,” “I jumped in and sank,” “I might’ve sunk and died,” “thought I would jump down,” and “I might have jumped and died.” The speaker is going through some kind of emotional trauma because of a break-up and wants to end it, but there are fragments of hope that linger since he does not do it. The first time he stopped himself, it is because the water is cold, which means he is still physically able to feel things; the second time, it is because he was high up, which means he is still able to fear things, too. He may be crying and screaming, but he knows he’s still alive. The fact that he is not physically or mentally numb is his will to live. There’s a difference between living and being alive and he knows he is capable of doing both. This becomes evident with the fifth stanza when he stops feeling so hurt and full of despair, and he begins to dwell on the inkling of hope that he is alive for some reason other than to be hurt as badly as he was by someone he loved. This then turns into an aggressive self-confidence in the very last stanza. He will allow for the person who has wronged him to see him suffer and cry, but he will not allow her to see that he has died because that would mean that she has won. She may have hurt him in the beginning, but the best revenge he can get is living his life better than he did when he was with her. Also, can we please talk about his rhyme scheme and his use of exclamation points? His rhyme scheme is ABCB, and has a line separating every two stanzas. This ABCB rhyme scheme doesn’t give it a bouncy tone; rather it makes it sound more like a sad story. I immediately thought of jazz and the blues when I read this. It’s in a minor key, if you will. But then you have those bursts of passion in between that allows him to proclaim how he feels. I don’t usually like poems that use exclamation points, but this one used it in such a way that the exclamation points were a contrasting point in between every two stanzas. The ways in which he was to commit suicide were more dramatic, but then as he moved in and became more emotional, it fit right in.
Okay, this song. There is a female singing along with Randell, WHAT. And also, it’s my first time using a duet. Here goes. In the beginning of the song, the very beginning of the song, I can see the speaker at the river. He jumps in but screams, and that’s when the male voice kicks in. He hollers and cries but he just can’t do it. He rages with pure frustration. He doesn’t know if he’s mad at himself or his ex-lover. He doesn’t know exactly what he feels. He leaves the river dejectedly and moves on. Then comes the bass rift in between vocalists, I can see him anxiously waiting for an elevator to take him to the top of his building. He had chosen this one because it was the tallest. Then the female vocalist kicks in and he’s on top of the building thinking about HER. He’s hurt and he’s angry. Along comes the male vocalist. I can see that the speaker is now hollering and crying again. He’s so high up. His chest tightens his eyes wide, and his mind races. He doesn’t know what he was about to do. He climbs off of the ledge and sprints down those stairs with that sudden moment of clarity. While the guitar solo plays, I can see the speaker going back to his place, throwing out every memory he has of her. He’s still crying and he’s still screaming but he’s not punishing himself for allowing himself to feel. He’s burning the love letters, tossing her clothes, and destroying every picture he has of her. Out of sight, out of mind. Once the vocalists kick in with that soft, and increasing, aggression, I can see the speaker actually picking himself up. He sees her on the street. She looks like she’s seen better times, but he’s moved on and he’s done feeling hurt and desperate. He’s free from her and life is fine.
Alright, alright, if you haven’t figured it out already, that was me singing with Randell. Shocker, I know. I was going to record a song specifically for this blog buuuut I got super sick, so I had to choose this one. Randell also wrote and played everything in this song; I just learned the lyrics and recorded with him. Anyway, I chose these two pieces because they do kind of have better endings. “Life is fine!” You guys, we are practically done with our freshman year of college! We’re pretty much the greatest people I know right now. Yes, we’ll have moments that try to break us, but the point is, there are better ways of dealing and just knowing that we are capable of feeling alive is the best feeling in the world! I’m sad that this is ending, but we’ve had great times. I hope I was able to bring you visual poetry and newer music. I hope that I inspired you to see the images that have been embedded in both music and in poetry. Most of all, I hope you enjoyed reading these. It’s been fun. *a la Tina Fey* Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow.
I’m actually quite sad that this is the last civic issues blog for the year. It took a fair amount of time (approximately 2 hours) to decide what it is I wanted to write about. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to end with another story, or if I should go over the article about the Prop 8 debates, or even if I should talk about the Westboro Baptist Church (something I haven’t talked about in depth). After everything, though, I decided to go with a mixture of the last two.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that not all people who believe strongly in their religion are against same-sex marriage, but it’s the radicals like the people of the Westboro Baptist Church that gives them a bad name. When I was doing research for previous blog posts, I came across their website, one of their websites, anyway. Their website is titled godhatesfags.com. I wish I was lying. When I first saw the URL, I thought it was a parody of their real website, but after about an hour and a half of just surfing their website, I came to the sick realization that this was in fact their real website. I would include the actual link to take you to the website, but I just don’t have it in me. Honestly, I don’t see how their religious beliefs should have such a strong impact on something that isn’t going to hurt them. They use the Bible for justification, but the Bible was also used to justify slavery. It really goes both ways, and why gay marriage is still illegal in some states absolutely baffles me. For a place that’s known for equality and freedom, no one is really equal.
That’s my WBC rant. Here are other reasons I’ve heard that gay couples shouldn’t marry.
“It would redefine and undermine traditional marriage!”
“The only way to have a child is to have one man and one woman.”
“If you allow them to marry, where does it stop?”
Here’s my personal favorite: “This will let children think it’s okay to be gay!”
Here are my counterarguments, or rants, whatever they turn out to be.
Wow, okay. If we were really to be going off of what “traditional marriage” is, then women would still be considered property and interracial couples would not be allowed to marry. As for undermining marriage? The things that are undermining marriage, and this is just my opinion, is divorce and short, glorified, celebrity marriages. I’m not even going to begin with those (I’m looking at you, Kim Kardashian). In the year 2011, 41% of “first” marriages ended in divorce.1 It’s insulting that someone could have a first, second, third marriage while claiming that because two people of the same sex are in love, they shouldn’t be allowed the same rights to marriage as they are. Bravo.
This is one of my favorite arguments. I was actually watching a video2 and someone said this. I know that it is a true statement, but to use it as a reason to not allow someone to be married is harsh. Honestly, I laughed out loud when I watched this video, not because it was funny, but because I couldn’t wrap my head around some of the stuff that he said, including this. Like I said, yes, this statement is true, but it doesn’t affect the way the population grows or decreases. People will continue to procreate at their own rate and life will go on.
This is actually a paraphrase of something someone said. Yes, believe it. It actually broke my heart when I found out it was Jeremy Irons (the voice of Scar in “The Lion King”) who, in an interview said “Could a father not marry his son?” The fact that he actually thinks that same-sex marriage could lead into any kind of incest-type relationship, is extremely insulting. It isn’t even remotely close. As if that wasn’t insulting enough, he then states “Living with another animal, whether it be a husband or a dog, is great… It’s lovely to have someone to love. I don’t think sex matters at all.”3 Wow, okay, so I guess they’re animals, too. Jeremy Irons, you murdered my childhood with this statement, and I don’t know if I can ever forgive you. That is all.
This one is the best. Allowing the children to think it’s okay is fine. Do you know why? Because it is! I think that instead of teaching children to have such narrow-minded and self-righteous views on what you think is right and wrong, you should allow them to think for themselves and have their own opinions. Take my mom for example. Yes, my mom and I absolutely butt heads on this topic because, no surprise, she doesn’t agree with this idea either, but she lets me believe what I want to. Plus, what if your child happens to be gay? Could you even imagine the kind of pain he (or she) would go through knowing that their parents hated everything about his (or her) lifestyle? It’s the same thing as bullying.
I tried to choose arguments that weren’t religiously connected, so I hope I did a decent job. Not all religious groups are radical. Not everyone is close-minded. But this is a friendly reminder that, unfortunately, some people are. I hope you enjoyed this post. Sorry if it’s a bit long. Thank you for reading and remember, love is love.
Hello, everyone! So I was originally going to do a poem by Maya Angelou because I really liked it, but I started the whole analytical process and it turns out the whole poem was about sex. The whole poem was literally describing the speaker having sex, so I decided not to do that poem, even though I had perfect music for it. Wow. Anyway, I hope you guys are doing well. Is anyone else SUPER excited at how close the end of the school year is, or am I the only one? I honestly cannot wait to go home, no offense to Pennsylvania. I’m in a weird and jittery mood. I think the coffee is starting to actually seep into my skin because I don’t drink coffee.
So, this week I found two gorgeous pieces. I’ll be looking at “The Trouble With Snowmen” by Roger McGough and “Are We Really Through” by Ray LaMontagne.
I actually could not find the publication date for “The Trouble With Snowmen,” but if any of you poetry buffs happen to know, that’d be great.
“Are We Really Through” was written and performed by Ray LaMontagne and released on his “God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise” on August 17, 2010.
Here is the song *note: The “Pariah Dogs” are the other musicians he collaborated with on this album*
To be honest, I actually have no idea how I found this poem. I was on poemhunter.com (or something similar to that, I really don’t remember) when I saw his name in the suggestion bar to the side based on my recent views. I think this poem is so great. The beginning of the poem starts off so lighthearted and sweet. The speaker reflects on an important part of his childhood and does so with an ABAB-type rhyme scheme, which gives it that lighthearted tone. It’s almost as if the speaker (I’m just going to refer to the speaker as ‘he”) and his father are sitting inside after a long snowman-building session and drinking hot chocolate when the father brings this up in the hopes of lightening up his son’s eyes. As the poem continues, though, it is revealed that the speaker’s father has died even though the snowman still remains. When this is revealed the rhyme scheme doesn’t quite match up, and this indicates a nuance in tone; however, it’s not a complete change, because it takes up two stanzas to shift into the next major tone of the poem. Starting from “And that snowman still stands…” to “Bad to happen,” the speaker provides an image of how the snowman looks now. It is no longer an innocent father’s attempt to make his child happy, it is now a permanent stone-cold figure that will not leave the speaker’s sight. The last two stanzas are mournful now that the speaker is older and looks with the snowman with disgust instead of wonder. The last four lines are what really tie this whole thing together, though. When he says, “The snowmen I envy/ As I watch children play/ Are the ones that are made/ And then fade away.” It maintains the same light-hearted tone which creates a kind of ironic innocence that adults don’t necessarily maintain. As a child, building a snowman, especially with his father, was a magical thing. It was the ability to create something new, allow it to leave, and then start all over the next day. As a child, you don’t think about it as just melting away, you think about it as a chance to create something better. Now that he is an adult, though, he is constantly reminded of his father’s death. He is unable to move on and he cannot allow the memories to just melt away and begin anew.
This song seemed to be the perfect match to this poem because the light guitar strumming allows for the image of a young boy and his father building snowmen, going inside, talking lightly, and drinking hot chocolate together, both of their cheeks pink from the biting cold outside. However, LaMontagne’s voice is exactly what mournful would sound like. His voice almost illustrates the speaker growing up and being there when his father dies and coming home to the snowman, knowing that his father once helped him with that, and knowing that his father can’t help him with another one. As the song progresses and LaMonagne’s voice becomes more haunting and melancholic, I can see the speaker sitting on his couch, sipping hot chocolate out of the same cup he used as a kid, and imagining him and his father building and re-building snowmen. He becomes increasingly agitated and begins to resent that grotesque looking snowman because of its permanence while his father no longer lives. As the song fades out, I can imagine the speaker walking around and watching children play, becoming increasingly envious and maybe even a bit sad. I can see him turn away and avoid going home to that permanent snowman. The tone of LaMontagne’s voice embodies the speaker as a whole and the music captures his experience and nostalgia. He still maintains a certain innocence but only because he is only able to cling to the memory of his father in a way that makes him resent the things that made him so happy as a child, like building snowmen.
I heard of Ray LaMontagne when I watched the movie “I Love You, Beth Cooper.” They played his song “Let It Be Me” (which was on his Gossip in the Grain album), and I absolutely loved the song. I was reminded of him today when I was on Tumblr and one of his songs (Burn, which was on his Trouble album) came up. Like I said earlier, I found the poem somewhere on the internet and I loved it. I thought it was the sweetest thing ever until I finished it, but that’s the kind of poetry I like: the kind that leaves an impression. I really hope you liked this week’s post. It’s the second to the last, which makes me sad, but I’ve got a surprise for the last post that I hope you’ll enjoy. Thanks for reading!
Well, last week, Ammara was the one who posted, so it’s my turn! To answer your question on the previous post, Anne: no, Maddie isn’t working with us. I was originally going to work with Jess and Maddie but that changed.
1. Well, so far, to kind of just further elaborate on last week’s post, we just discussed exactly what our goal was for this project. We want to see a change in smoking habits on campus because not only is it hazardous to the ones smoking, but it’s also hazardous to everyone around them; however, we want to do this in a way that won’t sound so preachy. There are so many anti-smoking ads that sometimes it gets overbearing, which is the kind of thing we want to avoid. Ammara had also mentioned wanting to interview the people who do smoke, but I wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to ask them so that’s something we have to work on.
2. I don’t think we really had any questions. But I guess: is it a requirement to post this project where it’s intended to be posted, or was it just something to help us find a concrete audience to focus our video on?
Hey guys. I hope everyone had a good week! We’re nearing the end of the semester, though, so hang in there! I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to go home for the summer. I am way too excited. So, anyway, for this week’s blog post, I wanted to do it in honor of my grandpa. I didn’t know him very well because of our language barrier, but my dad has told me so many great stories about him. He’s pretty much my hero. He would have been 70 years old today but he died 5 years ago of leukemia. Sorry if I bring anyone down.
This week, I’ll be looking at “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas and “Cancer” by My Chemical Romance.
“Do not go gentle into that good night” was written by Dylan Thomas and first published in 1937.
“Cancer” was released on their album “Black Parade” in 2006.
Here is the song, as usual:
Also, here’s the music video. Warning: The quality is kind of bad and it also might make you cry. I thought I would be brave so I watched it yesterday–couldn’t stop crying. Just a fair warning:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
God men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, and grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with the blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and by gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
This poem was given to my AP English class and it was hanging on my poetry wall so I knew I had to use it. It really is a beautiful poem. There’s a certain kind of melancholic desperation and intensity. There are two key phrases that are repeated in this poem: “Do not go gentle into that good night” and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” They both have that melancholic intensity that emanates throughout the entire poem. The speaker is saying that once death approaches, you should fight it, even though you know it’s unavoidable. Though men who, in their day, were able to persuade with the power of words, it is useless when their time comes, so they must fight as much as they can. Good deeds seem smaller once the darkness approaches and even the wild men realize how valuable life is, so they must fight. At first, it just seems that the speaker really values life and the fight to stay alive, but in the last stanza, they bring it to a personal level. This allows for a personal connection of the reader. Up until now, the speaker alternated between the two phrases at the endings of the previous stanzas, but in this one, the one about her father, she uses both. This is because to the speaker, their father was all of these things: the wise one, the good one, and even the wild one. The speaker refuses to allow their father to give up and asks for any kind of fight because the speaker refuses to let their father go quietly. At first glance, it does not seem so desperate, but the repetition of these phrases say otherwise, almost as if the speaker is reassuring himself that the fight is worth it.
I picked this song to go with the poem because of the different points of view in these pieces. I’m not comparing lyrics, but the intensity in which Gerard Way, the lead singer of MCR, sings emanates the fight that the speaker of the poem longs for. The instruments of this song especially emphasize the melancholy of this situation and only intensify with the tone of the vocalist. If you’ve heard any other My Chemical Romance songs, you would know that this is quite a change for them genre-wise. There is so much pain behind his voice which he tries to hide with the words he is saying, and that is exactly what the speaker of the poem does as well. When I hear this, I can see the speaker of the poem with her father in a hospital room. They’re both crying and neither one want to let go. The speaker is asking to fight death, but her father can do so much. Both are fighting so desperately for the chance to cling on to that final moment. The struggle continues on for both of them, but I really think the poem is asking not only the father to fight, but for the speaker to fight as well. The difference is that the father is fighting death while the speaker is fighting to keep himself together.
Oh man, that was actually tough to write but I got through it. *pats self on back* I first heard this song during my “punk rock” stage (don’t pretend you didn’t have that, too. Everyone did) and it always made me cry, and it still does. When my grandpa died, I stopped listening to it, and I didn’t actually hear it again until I had to write this post. It was intense. I’m so so sad that My Chemical Romance broke up. They were my first band obsession so this just proves that I’m getting old. Ew. Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope it didn’t make you too sad and for those who actually watched the video, I’m offering hugs at the end of class for the emotional trauma I may have caused you. I mean it. That video messed me up. Wow, I get really off topic a lot. Sorry. Thanks for reading!
According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, “about half of young people have experienced some form of cyber-bullying, and ten to twenty percent experience it regularly” (Cyber Bullying Statistics). Cyber-bullying may be in the form of what started as teasing and escalated into relentless tormenting, circulating private information or pictures, or even stalking and sexual harassment. With the technological revolution that has been occurring nowadays, it has become more common for bullying to take place in the vast world of the Internet. It jumps from social media site to social media site. It may often reach an extreme and the one who is being bullied does something drastic, and according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 21% of those who committed suicide were bullied (SPRC). Bullying, whether it is physical, verbal, or mental, has deep psychological effects for both the bully and the victim and needs to be recognized; because it is so common amongst adolescents, it is the parents and teachers who must be educated so they can see the warning signs and know when to stop it. The problem is not just the bullying itself, but it is also the lack of laws and policies that make facilitate the process of reducing this. In order to restrict this, there need to be laws implemented that allow school sanctions and criminal prosecution. It won’t be easy, mostly because it’s the enforcement that proves to be the problem, but with the help of media attention, people will want to turn the prevention of bullying into a fad, instead.
Bullying has increased over the years and has had fatal consequences, especially amongst adolescents. While physical bullying also includes visible bruises and scars, the emotional impact bullying can have is worse. It can take away a person’s self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. It can leave someone confused as to why someone has so much hatred towards them. The worst thing it does, though, it is manipulates any sense of trust and confidence. This is a civic issue because it entails the well-being of the upcoming generations. We live in a society that is now succumbing to feeling of depression; a place where there are multiple crisis hotlines that have no real power other than a place for a distressed person to call. Cyber-bullying impacts not only the victim, but the family if something were to happen to the person being bullied. It’s hard to even imagine the feeling of knowing your child was tormented enough to want to die and not knowing anything about it and knowing there are no consequences for the person who inflicted the damage. This policy isn’t something that is said but never done. It is something that the victim and/or their family can rely on.
My plan is to implement concrete policies that will provide comfort for the victim, such as allow a school to take action and suspend/expel a student and allow for the state or city to fine or contain the culprit. If it is the victim who comes forward, anonymity should be enforced because that is where threats arise, and the school must take immediate action. There is no time for any warning. Because this a serious issue, the punishment must be serious as well. Suspension would occur in the unlikely event that the bully stops, but it if does continue, expulsion is necessary. Fines would be given with a $500 minimum, and if the threats include death, they should be contained. Sometimes, it is not only the bully that is the problem, but it as the adult to whom it is reported to that causes a bigger problem. To stop that, the teacher could also face the same consequences because knowing that there is a problem and not acting on it, is just as bad as causing the problem yourself. It may sound harsh, but it could scare the bullies straight and it could appease the victims; however, first, the government would need to clearly define bullying in order to implement these policies to help the bullied and their families, but it is the job of the parents to also identify the signs and the job of the victim to get help. Schools, though they do this now, need to further educate the parents and their own teachers. They will need to monitor any internet activity that takes place on their own campus, as will any government or city funded building, such as a library. The problem is often proving who the bully is and restricting the spread of their actions. To help mitigate that, the social media websites, such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc., need to implement courses of actions that one could take if in distress.
Because bullies are different everywhere, there is no telling whether or not it could be rendered effective everywhere that it is implemented. Yes, the internet is indefinitely vast and cannot be controlled everywhere at all times, but if there were some restrictions that made it harder for the bullies to inflict any kind of emotional damage, then there is at least something being done. No, restrictions cannot be posed everywhere, but the victim does have the ability to “block” someone. If that doesn’t work, there are support links on certain websites. I know for a fact that there are places to go for help on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. There could also be arguments against the implementing of fines because it seems harsh. Compared to the emotional damage that was inflicted, there is not enough money to fix that. It will take therapy and an ability to be able to trust again that no one else could give back.
By implementing criminal prosecution and school sanctions, the effects of cyber-bullying could be weakened. Cyber-bullying has damaged a number of adolescents of today, but now that it has even reached the media, there is no way that people won’t bring attention to it now. With every action, there needs to be a consequence. Even though they are young, they need to understand that their actions could have very permanent results, whether it results in trauma or death. It seems harsh to put that on one person, but it is even harsher to realize that their actions hurt deeply enough to cause damage and to even think that suicide is an option. With these plans of educating the adults so that they could educate the kids, alongside the plans of harsh consequences for harsh actions, cyber-bullying could be minimalized.
Wow, okay, so I am particularly heated for no reason at all, but I will try to keep this tame for everyone’s sake. You’re welcome. This week I’ll be talking about three fairly controversial topics. They will probably get angrier as I progress, but I’ll avoid that as much as possible. I chose the first one because of an article that I read a while back about the Boy Scouts, the second one because of the progress, and the third one because of the activism.
The first thing I noticed when I logged into the Huffington Post today was the story about Chipotle refusing sponsorship of a Utah Boy Scout’s event. Why did they cancel this sponsorship? Chipotle did not agree with Boy Scout’s ban on the admittance of lesbian and gay members. At first, they were going to continue on with the event, but as soon as LGBT rights activists heard of this, they wrote letters to Chipotle saying that it went against their own policy on supporting “’organizations that discriminate against a person or a group on the basis of age, political affiliation, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.’”1 Because of the pressure they were receiving from advocates, the spokes-people of Chipotle were forced to reevaluate their decision, and they chose to retract their sponsorship. I think it’s hard to go back on your word, but I think it’s honorable that they didn’t disregard their own beliefs. At the risk of sounding redundant, yes, the Chipotle probably did this to save face, but it is in accordance with their policy and if they don’t believe in that statement, how could anyone else?
Another thing I saw on the Huffington Post (which is where I find most of these things, by the way), was an article about how personal relationships affect support. After reading the article and finding that the support for gay marriage has increased, I was still not as happy as I thought I would be. Senator Rob Portman, from Ohio, recently announced his support for gay marriage after finding out his son was gay, but he had been a devoted advocate against gay marriage for the past two years.2 On one hand, he fought against this cause for so long and now because someone he is close to has come out as gay, he now wants to offer support. That seems kind of superficial. It makes it look like a statement on his own character. On the other hand, he now supports the community he has fought against. Beliefs change and it took the love of a father to see that.
This last topic will be hard for me to talk about because of my feelings for the Westboro Baptist Church. You know, the ones who picketed soldiers’ funerals and have such a strong hatred for the gay community? I won’t even get started on them, for your sake. Anyway, I actually saw this before I read the article on the Huffington Post. I saw this on Imgur and Tumblr, and my boyfriend sent me a link from Reddit. The idea of this was absolutely marvelous. This man is a genius. Aaron Jackson, from the Planting Peace group, purchased a house directly across from the WBC and decided that the best way to make a statement against their harsh actions towards everything, especially the gay community, was to paint the house the colors of the Gay Pride Flag. He called this the Equality House and wants to use it to “’raise awareness and capital, and we want to put all that money into creating and sustaining anti-bullying programs, along with supporting anti-bullying programs that already exist.’”3 When I first saw the pictures all over the internet, I was so amazed by the braveness and love that this guy, group, exudes. It’s a great idea that portrays exactly what they had hoped: “Where there is hate, there is love.”
Reading this articles helped me to see that there is a move for progress and it helps me to have some sort of faith that this community will have success. I know I seem pushy and almost preachy when I get on this topic, but it’s only because I know how it affects people. I have loved ones who feel ostracized by their own peers and family, and the fact that people are changing their minds and are being supported in unlikely places give me hope that the people I know are struggling now won’t have to struggle their whole lives. Well, that’s my rant for the week. Thanks for reading.
*Also, if you wanted to donate to the Planting Peace Group’s Fundraiser, you can click here.*
For my essay, I want to address the issue of cyber-bullying.
I want to propose a policy of action for those who do cyber-bully. The internet was not brought about to say horrid things to one another or to group together and bully one person. I am aware that it is impossible to track everyone on the internet, but if it had stricter rules on what could be posted and spread, then this problem could die down just a little bit. Bullying, whether it is physical or emotional, can affect the whole course of someone’s life and there has been a rising epidemic of cyber-bullying, especially amongst teenagers.
My target audience is for the ones who run social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit, etc, and also for adults, who influence their kids’ behaviors. I know they could help with restricting and with it reaching the media, it could help to create advocates for this cause who will, if not stop the cyber-bullying, help the one being bullied to reach out for help. I plan on reaching out to these people because if restrictions are placed and these adults realize how their actions affect the actions of their children, action can be taken.
For this project, if possible, I would like to work with a partner. I would like to create a video that would explain the effects this has and expose the bullies of the internet while explaining why action needs to take place.
Hello, beautiful people! I hope you had a restful spring break. I don’t know about you, but it went by way too fast for my liking; however, it was great to be home again. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to record anything, so sorry. Over the break, though, my brother introduced me to this great song and I became obsessed with it (as I have also mentioned in the tags), so of course I had to share it with you guys! This group also sings a fantastic rendition of “You Are My Sunshine.” I know how ridiculous that sounds, but they added lyrics so it’s a good song and I wanted to use it this week but I found the poem before I found the song and they didn’t work together; if you have time, you should look it up..or I could just include it here.
Anyway, this week I’ll be looking at “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein and “I Miss You” by Leftover Cuties.
“Where the Sidewalk Ends” was written by Shel Silverstein and was published in his collection of poems, entitled Where the Sidewalk Ends, in 1974.
“I Miss You” by Leftover Cuties was released on May 31, 2011 on their Places to Go—EP.
Here is the song, as usual:
Where the Sidewalk Ends
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
Where do I even begin with this poem? I used to read Shel Silverstein when I was younger but when I read this one again, something about it just intrigued me. I rather enjoy the overall message in this poem. The poem itself has a rather innocent and hopeful tone with a bit of nostalgia thrown in there. The hopeful tone is established with phrases such as “there is a place,” “let us leave,” “we shall walk…/And watch,” and “Yes we’ll walk…/And we’ll go.” With these phrases, the speaker is insinuating that not only is there such a place, but the “we” will be traveling to this place together. The innocent tone is established with phrases such as “grass grows soft and white,” “sun burns crimson bright,” “moon-bird rests from his flight,” “measured and slow,” and the last two lines “For the children, they mark, and the children, they know/The place where the sidewalk ends.” These phrases describing “where the sidewalk ends” are a contrast to the description of where the speaker, and the assumed audience, is now. In the second stanza, when the speaker is describing the place where “the smoke blows black,” etc., he is referring to the darkness of the real world. The place where the sidewalk ends is not a real place at all, rather it is an escape from the world. The real world is so fast-pace and unpleasant, but by returning to simpler times, times of childhood, innocence may return. We are going to walk measured and slow so that we can slow down and enjoy the things we cannot enjoy with the fast-paced life we are currently living. In the last two stanzas, again, the speaker says, “For the children, they mark, and the children, they know/The place where the sidewalk ends,” and this also goes back to the nostalgic innocence that comes with just slowing down. It’s okay to want to get away from the realism of the world and to follow the “chalk-white arrows” that the children mark. No one knows for sure where they will go, but it will allow for a return to simpler times if only for just a moment.
This song, I think, captures the innocent and hopeful nostalgia that emanates from this poem. They ukulele and the bells in the background are more innocent and complement the nostalgic tone of the vocalist. With the two combined, I could see myself walking along an unknown path with a light breeze blowing and a smile on my face. I can see myself when I was younger and didn’t have to worry about the things that plague my mind now: paying tuition, homework, work, where I’m going after college, etc. The drums and the bass help to emphasize the nostalgic hopefulness that also cones from this poem. It’s actually quite hard to slow down when everything is so fast-paced, but when it does happen, it’s a great feeling. The sun seems brighter and the sky seems bluer (well, when you can see them out here anyway), and you can walk around with a smile on your face. I like to think there is such a place where the sidewalk ends. Sidewalk is sometimes symbolic to the rush of the city, or since we’re in State College, the rush of a university campus, so why not imagine yourself to a place where grass was something you could enjoy rather something in the way of getting to class. The “real world,” though we are still not living in it yet, can be a dark place and a crimson sun can bring out a smile and a good memory.
Wow, so that was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I got through it, though, so that’s awesome. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this week’s post. Sorry if the song or the poem was a bit down, I’m telling you I’ve been in a weird mood. It could just be being out here for so long, my goodness. *end mini rant* I really do love this song, and I know I say that every week, but that’s only because I mean it every time. I hope you guys enjoyed this song (and poem) as much as I do. Thanks for reading!