unit 1
College Essay
I looked down at the new face cradled in my arms and I smiled from ear to ear. I held my new little sister in my arms after waiting for hours in a waiting room. I had never seen a baby this small before- her face was scrunched up, and her eyes were barely open. She was adorable. And as I looked down at her, I thought about the first time my parents announced the news. At the time, I was shocked. The idea of my mom having another child again after a whole decade had never crossed my mind before. I had no experience with a baby. What was I supposed to do? How do I hold one or keep one entertained? However, these questions and concerns simply vanished as I sat there in the delivery room. At that moment, I knew what to do.
As she began to grow up, there was something I always admired about her- how carefree she was. She has no worries or fears on how others perceive her, nor does she have any insecurities. She's unapologetically loud and will speak to anyone she encounters. She reminds me of how I was when I was younger. I too used to be loud and outgoing. I would put on singing concerts for my family, with no fear of how they thought my voice sounded. I would choreograph dances and cheers every time there was a family get together. I wasn’t afraid to be the loudest one in the room, or share my opinions. However, as I have grown older, the loud and outgoing me has diminished. I began to be a person on the side-lines, just waiting for when I grew up. I didn't appreciate anything around me and kept to myself. I would cancel plans, and hope for certain moments to just be over with.
My jealousy continued to bother me, until I couldn’t take it any longer. Finally, I told myself that I,
too, can do cartwheels. Or at least live in the moment, and stop suppressing my youth. I may not be a child anymore, but that does not mean that I have to stop enjoying life. No longer would I take every possible memory up for granted. A new mentality emerged in my mind. I do not want to look back at my life and see years wasted. I have only one life, and for me not to make the most of it, is careless. It doesn't have to be something big, just something where I am happy and having fun. With this mentality, I stopped cancelling plans with friends and family, and instead hung out with people more often. I thought of things to do that would create meaningful memories, like going to waterfalls, or eating at a new restaurant. I put myself out there for the things I am passionate about. Every time there was an audition or club to join that would advance my love for singing and theatre, I signed up. I began to choreograph dances and sing for my family again. With this approach, I have met spectacular people, and experienced incredible moments.
Now when my sister is doing cartwheels in the backyard, I don’t just sit and watch her. I join in and I make the most of my time too, like painting or tie-dying a shirt. Together, we fulfill our time with noteworthy and memorable moments.
Free Write
they do include someone out of that category, it’s typically a stereotype. People then only grow up with that idea in mind, and sense they usually don’t know anything else, they bring those stereotypes over to real life.
Instead, literature, pop culture, and the media should include a variety of people, and they are just a person. They are not a stereotype, they are their own unique self, with meaningful qualities and interests. They aren’t people who are there for the sake of adding diversity (which in return can lead to a pointless or forced character that the writers just put in there for brownie points). If people are constantly watching or reading things that are inclusive, they may then grow accustomed to it. They may then just see different people with different stories.
Imaginative Writing
to sit at. They sit down and begin to make small talk.)
Jaden: What are yalls opinions on texting? I'm curious.
boyd: I think that texting is simply another way of communicating. People can feel more connected while texting.
Meltzer: Indeed, texting is just another form of communication. It reminds me of the idea of literacy. Oftentimes when we think of reading and writing something, we first think of books, magazines, essays, or newspapers. However, literacy is much broader than that. It can be found when composing an email, posting on social media, or texting. Texting has its own form of writing.
McWhorter: Exactly. Texting is a way to write how we speak. We use abbreviated words and typically ignore the basis of grammar and punctuation. Texting is quite controversial, especially with older generations. There has always been criticism of younger generations talking and writing differently. It can be seen from years and years ago- even as far as 63 A.D. Personally, I think that the way younger generations are able to text is quite interesting. It is almost like they are bilingual. They know how to write properly and formerly, but also write with abbreviated text. It’s a good skill to have.
Meltzer: I agree, it is very interesting that people are able to write in two different forms. It’s important to know who you are writing and talking to in order to effectively communicate with them.
Jaden: Yes, you have to know how to write formally, for say an essay, but if you were to text like that to a friend, they’d be a bit confused.
Meltzer: Certainly. It reminds of a speech that Malcom X delivered to three different groups of people. He spoke like each group to effectively spread his message. He knew how to cater to his audience.
McWhorter: Very interesting, I did not know that. Something else I found interesting about texting is that it is always evolving. In fact if I could be transported to the future, I would want to see a text conversation from a sixteen year old girl. I bet that there would be new words and different forms of writing.
boyd: That is so true, and I mentioned something like that when composing my book, “It’s Complicated”. Just like texting, social media is also evolving. At one point MySpace was all that, then Facebook, and now Instagram.
Jaden: Y’all have brought up many amazing points about texting. As a teenager, texting is definitely one of my main forms of communication.
boyd: I would not doubt that. For teens, socializing is very important to them. Nowadays, it is much harder for teens to communicate or hang out in public, but texting can solve that. “Teens may wish to enjoy the benefits of participating in public, but they also relish intimacy and the ability to have control over their public situations”
Jaden: Yes hanging out with friends can sometimes be difficult. I feel as if parents can be stricter about certain things, compared to how they were treated when younger. Yet, they’re judgemental when we text our friends when we can’t hang out with them.
boyd: I’ve noticed that adults typically turn up their noses for texting and new technology, and that may be because of nostalgia. “Many adults I meet assume their childhoods were better and richer, simpler and safer, than the digitally mediated ones contemporary youth experience. They associate the rise of digital technology with decline- social, intellectual, and moral.”
Jaden: What an interesting point, I had never thought of it like that before. Well, it was fun talking with you guys!
(The four finish their drinks and leave their separate ways.)
Unit 1 Project
Those in Control of Literature and Their Effect on an Individual’s Voice and Stories
Our entire lives we have been taught a specific set of rules and guidelines on how to speak and write and we have been told specific stories of groups of people. We never took a second to realize the gaps in these instructions, or asked ourselves who were the ones who decided upon these ideas. We simply just followed along. I am no minority to this way of thinking. It wasn’t until I took this class, where I began to question those very things. In fact, there were specifically two questions that consistently loomed over my mind: who is in control of literature and what stories and voices are these people limiting? I do not have the exact answers to these questions, but now I have a clear path of what these answers could be.
Having power in literature is a very strong tool to have. The people in control are very much aware of that. Once you think about it, it can clearly be seen. First off, the people who are in control, I believe, are white men. I came to this conclusion when I thought about the stories and voices that are not included in mainstream language and literature. The ones disincluded are from women and people of color usually- or they are included, but not authentically. That is why it’s clearly seen. The only voices and stories we hear are commonly from white men.
Those in control of literature have implemented Standard English for reading and writing. All of us
are accustomed to this form of English, and most certainly had to write that way for school. You could describe this form as White English. These grammar and language rules do not apply to every American. Standard English fails to represent every voice in our society. There are groups of people who have different styles, but we frown upon them for using their own rules. This can be seen with Black English. Black English is its own form of language that is completely valid. When someone unaccustomed to it first glances at it, they assume that is horrible grammar and speech. They do not understand that this grammar and speech are correct under Black English. Typically, that is not their fault. They have grown up learning what is and isn’t right, and what is “right” often only shows the white way of language. So, if someone were to talk like that in the professional world, they might be perceived in a negative light. Instead, these people will conform to Standard English to be taken seriously, as “they are hoping to please those who will never respect anyone different from themselves” (Jordan 363). This then goes back to the people in power of language. Why do these people create this standard of English to obstruct various voices of other people in society? I believe that this is definitely a way to oppress other people. If these people in control were to let others properly express their ideas and defy them, it might inevitably impede on their own power. They might in turn have more limits and have to share the control of literature and language. They’d be forced to let in other viewpoints, and that is probably scary to them.
The people in power of language misrepresent the stories of other groups of people. We only hear single stories and stereotypes (oftentimes harmful ones) of people. This can be seen in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s insightful Ted Talk. Adichie grew up in Nigeria, and had a normal and stable life. She lived in a nice house, had a good family, and was well nourished. However, when she moved to the United States for college, her roommate was shocked by this. Her roommate only knew the single story of Africa. A place of war, crime, disease, and poverty. That is a false narrative, but the one we normally hear about in literature. There are almost no stories that we hear about with someone with a mundane life in Africa. These people in power purposefully make sure that we hear those single stories. They want to push their own narratives in America. They want us to believe that Americans have the upperhand, that we are an amazing nation compared to others. This is a problem, and we need a solution. As Adichie puts it, “...when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise”. I believe this to be true. If we include every voice and every story, every person would get a fair say. We need to have diversity in our language and literature, and we need different people in control of it.
It is clear to me now of the questions that challenged me. The people in control of our language and literature are white men. It can then be seen that the voices and stories of other people are erased from these people in control.
Works Cited
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. The Danger of a Single Story. TED, July 2009. TED, https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en.
Jordan, June. Nobody Mean More to Me Than You And the Future Life of Willie Jordan. Harvard Educational Review, Aug 1988.
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