They're just like us

            All my life I have been exposed to people with disabilities. In fact, my younger cousin has a disability; he's autistic. Regardless, it never occurred to me that there was anything wrong with him, probably because there isn't. Unfortunately, the rest of the world doesn't see it this way. Countless times I have heard people make comments about people with disabilities. I even hear some people making fun of people with disabilities, as if they chose to be that way. Having a disability isn't a choice, if anything it's a test. People with disabilities inherently have a more challenging time doing just about anything than people who don't have a disability. However, it isn't the disability that keeps them from doing different things, it's the stereotype they have. Just like Nancy Mairs wrote in Disability, "It’s not about a woman who happens to be physically disabled; it's about physical disability and the determining factor of a woman's existence." For people with disabilities, the possibilities aren't endless. After all, the very definition of the word disability, as defined by dictionary.com, suggests that having a disability creates limits: a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities.

            Recently I have been getting more involved in activities meant to help people with disabilities. There are numerous events held for disabled people that are meant to help them experience normal activities. In fact, I recently went to a dance held for people with disabilities. Being at an event like this was truly eye opening. Going to this dance helped me to bond with other kids who are just like my cousin. Talking to other kids with disabilities helped me to get to know them, looking beyond their disability. These kids have the same interests as me: they play games, eat pizza, play with their pets, even complain about school. People say that kids with disabilities are different, some even say weird. But how can you say that when you don't know them? When all you know is that they have a disability? But, how does having a disability affect your personality? It doesn't. Maybe we look down upon people with disabilities because it makes us feel powerful. Maybe we do it because it helps us to deal with the fear that at any moment we could become just like them? Maybe we just do it because that's what society tells us to do?

Here is a podcast I made with my cousin about disabilities:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3_Tlawl9DToVzd5bGpNYWVQeWZfTXZHVG9BY1FYaWJLT00w/view?usp=sharing

Never Stop Dreaming

      I remember being a kid, when everything was a dream. I dreamed out my entire life. I would grow up to be an actress, I would have six kids, a wonderful husband, a mansion, and a purple sports car. Pretty unrealistic right? Now maybe, but when I was seven years old, anything was possible to me. In fact the bigger the dream, the better it was. But I guess as you grow up reality has to set in. Now, I don't aim to be an actress, I want to be a lawyer. I hope I'll have a wonderful husband, but I'll settle for three kids, it's a little more manageable than six. And I think I’ll trade in my mansion and purple sports car for a cute two story house in the suburbs and a nice soccer mom van. This is my new dream. I still like to entice myself by dreaming up unrealistic futures for myself in which I'm living my childhood dreams out, but like I said, at some point you must grow up. Times change and people change, sometimes your dreams must too. However, Beneatha from A Raisin in the Sun refuses to accept this. She wants to be a doctor in a world in which women don't do that. After all, "It's not every day a woman decides to be a doctor," (A Raisin in the Sun). Beneatha refuses to accept this stereotype and tries to pursue her dream, even if she is ridiculed for doing it. So which way is right? Altering your childhood fantasies so they become realistic, or refusing to let go of your dreams? Maybe they both are. After all, C.S. Lewis once said,"You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." 

57 Songs about dreams: https://spinditty.com/playlists/Songs-About-Dreams-and-Dreaming

Is wealth beneficial or detrimental?

     In my opinion, wealth isn't really beneficial to people. In fact, I think it's more detrimental than beneficial. Now, before I come off sounding crazy, let me explain myself. 

     In The Great Gatsby, the entire novel is characterized by wealth. Who can you marry? Someone who is high up on the social change, and has lots of money of course. How does Gatsby plan to impress Daisy? By throwing extravagant parties to show everyone, especially her, just how much money he had. And Myrtle? She doesn't have an affair with someone who is poor, oh no, she has an affair with Tom who is clearly higher class than her husband, Mr. Wilson.   All their decisions are motivated by their desire for one thing: wealth. These people put wealth before everything else in their lives, and in each case it eventually leads to their downfall. 

      As for the detrimental effects of wealth in The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, I think it’s safe to say that each characters life was severely altered due to the wealth of the Washington family. The sisters, for instance, were merely fools who were kept so out of the loop of the rest of the world that they weren't even aware that slavery had been abolished ages ago. And Mr. Washington, well his wealth led him to the conclusion that he was almighty, he even believed he could bribe God. This platonic conception of himself and his wealth that Mr. Washington holds soon leads to his, as well as his wife and son's, death. 

     So, if you ask me, wealth only leads to destruction and devastation. Bob Marley once said, "The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively," and I couldn't agree more.

 

My Favorite Passage

       My favorite passage from the Great Gatsby is on page 125, paragraph 2. It starts with a rather passive aggressive statement. Fitzgerald writes, "There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind," (125). But he does not stop there. Fitzgerald goes on to explain how Tom's "simple mind" is becoming "confused". And this "confusion" is cause by, of course, two women: Daisy and Myrtle Wilson. He refers to them, not by name, but simple as "His wife and his mistress," (125). This, coupled with the exclamation that they were "slipping from his control," gives the impression that they belong to him.

       This paragraph also discusses the motif of speed. Fitzgerald writes, "Instinct made him step on the accelerator with the double purpose of overtaking Daisy and leaving Wilson behind," (125). This supports the claim that speeding makes people feel more in control of their lives. In this passage Tom is attempting to run away from the issues that he has created. He is simply trying to regain some of the control that he has lost. But of course you cannot simply run away from a difficult situation. This is shown by the last sentence of the paragraph, where "Form meets content," (Valentino). This sentence is clearly a run on and could have easily been broken up, but Fitzgerald keeps it as a run on because it symbolizes the fact that the struggle in Tom's mind is not over. This passage very clearly touches on multiple key points of the novel, and that is why I chose to blog about it. 

Why do we lie?

       Why do we feel the need to make things up? To make ourselves seem like people we are not? To tell 'little white lies'? To be honest I don't believe there's a simple answer to this question. As hard as it is to admit, most of us are probably almost as bad as Jordan Baker when it comes to telling the truth. On page 57, Nick tells about a time that Jordan lied. He writes, "When we were on a house-party together up in Warwick, she left a borrowed car out in the rain with the top down, and then lied about it." This is one of the multiple examples Nick gives that support his claim that Jordan is a liar. In this case, she is lying about something that isn't even a big deal, but rather a simple mistake. However, for some reason she feels the need to lie about it. This happens still today. Although everyone knows that it is wrong to lie, many do it anyway. Some people don't even realize that they are lying, they are simply "incurably dishonest," (Fitzgerald 58). However, most people avoid telling exaggerated lies that heavily impact the lives of others. Instead, people tend to 'bend' the truth to make it seem as if everything is going the way they want it to. People tend to tell stories that enhance the image that others have of them, often by changing a couple minor details. This accusation isn't to say that everyone is "incurably dishonest," (Fitzgerald 58) or even that everyone has ever lied. This is just to say that often times people find it easier to tell a small lie, rather than suffer the embarrassment that may accompany the truth. But as to why we feel the need to do this, there is no exact answer. The best answer I could come up with is that we do it to protect ourselves. We 'bend' the truth to ensure that our images and reputations aren't damaged as a result of something minor. 

Is Society Truly Against Rape?

     Rape is one of the most difficult and uncomfortable topics to talk about. Unfortunately, rape is a key event in the novel The Bluest Eye. Pecola is raped twice by her father, which causes her to have a mental breakdown. But when Pecola tells her mother what happened, she doesn't care. Morrison wrote, "So that's why you didn't tell her about the second time? She wouldn't have believed me then either," (200). This quote is taken from a conversation that Pecola is having with herself; she is clearly traumatized by what happened to her. And the depressing fact is that this same thing happens still today. Millions of people are raped each day-and most fail to report the assault. You might wonder why they don't report it, why they don't try to get justice for themselves. The answer is simply the same as the one Pecola gave to herself- "[they] wouldn't have believed me then either," (200). In fact, 54% of rapes are never even reported (Huffington Post). And why would you when rape victims are constantly being blamed for being assaulted? Or being judged because of something they never wanted to happen? In The Bluest Eye, this is exactly what happens. The others in the town look down upon Pecola because of something that was out of her control. Today, even if you managed to get your story heard, there's no guarantee the investigation would ever be completed. In 2009, 11,000 untested rape kits were found in evidence boxes in Detroit, (mlive.com). These victims never even got a chance for justice. Since then, a law has been passed that requires these tests to be tested within two weeks of a victim coming forward, (mlive). As a society it is clear that we are making progress, but we have so much more to do before we can ever say-truthfully- that we, as a society, are wholeheartedly against rape. There is a clear need for quicker and more substantial changes in the society we live in today. 

Beautiful Irony

        In 2014 2.8 million teens had one or more major episodes of depression (Teenhelp.com). Sorry to start off this post with such a sad fact, but depression is one illness that doesn't get nearly enough attention. Depression is all too common among teens and adults. In fact it's the most common mental illness in the United States (Teenhelp.com). And why is that? The answer is simple and right in front of everyone-technology. Or to be more specific, the beauty standards that technology allows people to share each day. Depression is an issue that was relevant in the 1900's and still is today. Pecola struggled with hating herself because of how she looked, much like teens do today. It's impossible to go on Facebook and not see a beautiful model staring back at you- practically judging you as you sit on your phone instead of working out like you promised yourself you would. Or maybe you prefer a magazine because paper can't judge you, or can it? You grab a copy of the latest Cosmopolitan and the first thing you see is an article for working out-everyone's tweeting about it. It's basically telling you, "Don't be the only lazy one, learn to love your body-all you have to do is change it."

         

     

How are you supposed to learn to love yourself when everything around you says you aren't good enough? One song by Pink, Don't Let Me Get Me, explains this feeling  perfectly, "LA told me, you'll be a pop star, all you have to change is everything you are. Tired of being compared to damn Britney Spears, She's so pretty, that just ain't me." Society tells you to love who you are, but creates standards of beauty that are so unreasonable even a "pop star" can't achieve them. Depression is caused by any number of things, but the most relevant is the feeling of being unworthy. The feeling of looking in the mirror and just hating what you see. And I can almost guarantee that everyone has had that feeling at least once before. But why? Why do we look in the mirror and judge ourselves so harshly? Because society says that if you don't fit specific and ridiculous standards- you can't be pretty. So when we look in the mirror, all we see is ugliness. The irony of society is beautiful. "Love your body- The 15-min workout everyone's tweeting about." Society wonders why everyone is depressed, maybe if it looked in the mirror it would understand.

"Don't Let Me Get Me" by Pink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_t9AA3Z4PE