Passion Blog
My previous passion blog shed light on the unknown struggles, life, and stereotypes of African American Women. My thought for this semester’s blog is to shed light on what I call “The Other Life.” This topic sparked my interest when I started my collage journey. Not until I started interacting and learning about others did I realize that many people have very little in sight on the lifestyle opposite of theirs. This blog would shed light on the other lifestyles that people may not have been exposed to.
Civic Blog
Idea 1: A civic issue that I find very important is that disadvantages that urban areas have due to location, demographics, and economy. In my blog I would dive deeper into these problems on an emotional, political, economic, and personal level.
Idea 2: Another civic issue that I find important is the mass incarceration rates. Within this blog I would analyze the documentary 13th amendment. In addition, I would speak on the economic advantages of mass incarceration along with the disadvantages it has on the average family.
This I Believe
Idea 1: The topic of my This I Believe podcast would go side by side with my passion blog. In particular, it will go hand and hand with the blog focusing on the education systems in urban areas verses elsewhere. I believe that when people come to college they are indeed at different learning levels and they should not have to not feel like they are not as smart as others simply because they were taught in different education systems.
Idea 2: I believe that everyone should be able to express their opinion loudly and freely without the fear of discrimination. I believe that if everyone had the mindset that supported the idea that you do not have to agree with someone in order to understand and respect their opinion. If people learned to not only express their opinion but to also listen to other then people would be a lot more sympathetic.
Passion Blog
I like the idea that you have for this issue and how you’re expanding it to incorporate all different lifestyles and backgrounds, rather than just your own. Penn State is a place teeming with diversity, not just in terms of race but just in the types of people we share this campus with. Too often, we fail to appreciate that diversity and I think this blog will give you more credibility because of your own willingness to analyze why others differ from you and to make a effort to understand them better. My only question is how will you learn about others’ lifestyles? Will you interview students from various backgrounds and go deep enough to give a better image of their lives that goes deeper than what we see at the surface? Will you be able to remove your own implicit biases?
Civic Issues Blog
Your first idea about issues in urban settings interests me and I think you tying the emotional, political, social, and personal levels together will give your readers a more complete view. I particularly like the ideas of incorporating emotional, social, and personal facets of these issues because you’ll be giving voices and identities to the people affected by them. This may even be better as a passion blog but I am excited to see how you blend those aspects with the political sides and the sources! The other idea regarding mass incarceration is also interesting and I like the idea of focusing on the documentary but my only concern is if you will have enough content for five 700 word posts.
This I Believe
Your second idea here I think will work particularly well for this assignment if you can find a good angle rather than just talking about the importance of freedom of speech. I don’t think a three-minute podcast will do your first idea justice because I think there is a lot more to say and that it’d be better fit for your passion blog where you can really develop your ideas.