Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Journal Six from Alli

Journal Six

Question One: 

For me, the whole entire process was very enlightening, not only did I learn so much about someone, I also learned stuff about myself and the society that surrounds me. The first thing that I realized from this project was the importance of talking face to face, and actually having a conversation without the interruption of phones or television. The technology that we have really prevents us from getting much of anything from people, especially the personal connection  you get from talking in person. Story telling on its own is something that is greatly diminishing in our society, and that is key to how we have built our country today, and it shouldn't be something that we're missing. The second thing that I learned from this project is to never judge a book from it's cover, while this is something that I was already aware of before and is slightly cliche in our society, this project really made me realize how true this was. Whether it be Bill, the guy that I interviewed, or any of the people in Holding On, there are many people that would take one look at them and turn away because of stereotyping. Regardless of who you think a person is. there is always more to them. There's stories to tell, good morals, and experiences that they've had that you can learn from as a person. We just need to open ourselves up to this as a society, something that I feel like we preach but actually don't do. The third thing that I learned from this project is how hard the writing process can be when you feel like you must do that person you're writing about, justice. I felt so personally liable for the stories that Bill told me, which I'm sure is a pressure that Isay felt greatly when composing this book. That is something that I am proud of after all is said and done with this project. The creative difficulties that I had making sure that this paper was perfect, really made me realize that it doesn't have to be perfect, because the person that I wrote about wasn't perfect. For me, I realized that once I captured who Bill was, the whole piece would come together, as for me I thought that it really did. The hard work that I put into the process is something that I'm really proud of, for me and for Bill. 

Question Two: 

1. Moreese Bickham - After reading this, I really took a lot from it. Other than the obvious themes, there were a lot of underlying that really spoke to me about society and the way that it works. I never want to forget his profile because of the hope that he stood for, after all of the difficulties and unjust moments in his life, he still had hope to be released from prison even though all of the odds were against him. To me that is important in the retrospect of life, and it can really be applied to even the smallest situations that you have. The only thing that can push you through the darkest of times is having the hope that you will one day see the light again. I feel like Bickham is holding onto the life that he could of had, and that resonates with me because that's something that I fear of doing in my own life.
2. Robert Shields - When I read this profile, at first I thought it was silly that this guy would write about so much stuff, things that really didn't matter overall, but as I kept reading I began to realize just what Shields was actually trying to accomplish. So many of us hold on to not wanting to be forgotten, even myself. I think of what I will leave behind in my life and if I will make a positive impact or not. This is what Shields feared as well, and what he holds onto. But in this process, Shields and many others waste their life away on the worries and never really get to live. This is another worry that I have for myself, which I know is something that I have to let go, or else I will not fully live life as I should.

Question Three:

1. In a time of segregation, how did the equality/inequality make an impact in the music industry?
         - I generated this from my reading of Dr.Hepcat who said he was one of the first African American disc jockeys, and in a historical standpoint, the music industry was one of the places that African Americans were the most accepted at the time, and this had an impact on segregation further down the road. 
2. How has Native American culture been sacrificed in our culture since we found America?
         - I generated this from the two profiles in the book that were told by Native Americans themselves, both affected by the American culture that we have carried through the years, one that keeps them from being fully accepted. Mike even portrays a sense of hurt from this, and its something that I'm more interested to learn about. 


4 comments:

  1. I liked the two profiles that you chose for the second part of this journal. I really think that I have taken something from almost all of these profiles and i felt like it was hard to just pick two, but I loved your choices and how they impacted you. I really could relate to what you were saying about leaving a legacy behind or something that was and impact on someone.

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  2. I completely agree with you on the importance of talking face to face. It seems like we do it less and less, especially to people we aren't really familiar with. We are too busy or too rushed or too suspicious. But face to face conversations can be so beneficial! Technology has changed our lives in many good ways, but sometimes we forget the good parts of live before technology, and the constant socializing behind screens alone make it more difficult to do so in day to day life. We need to find a balance.

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  3. I've never really thought about your first research question. Its very interesting to think about the influence that racism and segregation had on African-American music culture as well as white Americas music culture as well. I know it definitely deeply influenced early Jazz, blues and R&B but not the specifics which would be something I am interested in learning about. Even Native-American culture has been devastated as well. Not only is their population nearly a tenth of what it was before Christopher Columbus but think about it, when was the last time you noticed a Native-American family in your classes or even out in public while you were at dinner? Maybe it is just that we are in Ohio and their population is not to heavily centralized here, but it is some food for thought.

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  4. I also agree that we shouldn't judge people based on what we see. We all judge people because they dress differently making us put others down. We should take the time to really know people then make a judgement based on our knowledge about them.

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