As pretty as a Rose

I had the pleasure of having a guest speaker in my English class this semester named Rose Williams, she is an administrative secretary at South Western College and she shared with us her journey through segregation as a child to attending the first and second inauguration of our president Barack Obama.

 Everything was remarkable about Rose William’s presentation, she had such honesty and humbleness about the ways she talked with us she even got emotional about the hardships she has had to endure. I was really taken back with her story and it really made me realize all the everyday things I take for granted. For example being able to use any drinking fountain and restroom, going to a college that allows many different races to attend and that all the segregation laws have been abolished in my state and even being having equal rights to get a job.

 Many mornings when I don’t want to get up for school and then I have to think about how many historians  got up early in the morning to make a change so I would even be allowed to go to school as both an African American person and a woman. Taking into account that I’m not a morning person I just have to put myself in the right mind frame to get up and do what I need to do. 

Rose really opened up my eyes to how naive many people in my generation are about education, there all just looking for quick money and things they can flash and show off. The most memorable thing she said was “If you have a fear or anger deal with it and get over it” so many people of my generation are so upset and angry at the world for one reason or another it’s really just a big waste of energy and talent on their part. I was just in love with this quote and its brutal honesty. I will forever apply it to my life when I am having a conflict of just having a hard time in life and I hope you can too.

I used to love him, Now I love. . .

I believe that women are sucked into patriarchy unconsciously at a very young age and often struggle with the idea of whether it is right or wrong. Utley uses the rhetorical strategy of informing and explaining for support.(EXPLAIN WHAT THOSE ARE) We are instantly given barbie and baby-dolls when were young, trying to make happy little homes before we know what they even know what they are. I wish society and parents would focus more on their children loving themselves first rather than other people. it may sound a bit selfish but the saying you cant love anybody until you love yourself is true!! I think it is more healthy to have a good relationship with the person you spend the most time with a.k.a yourself!

 I found the idea in a section of Ebony Utley’s talk where she analyzed Lauren Hill’s song “I used to love him” to be extremely eye opening, she analyzed the song in a way that I would have never thought to do. Her attention to detail and her ability to make connections and metaphors are amazing.

Utley noticed the relevance of the ocean and the sand in Lauren hill’s song, the ocean beats up and forcefully shapes the sand on a regular basis and can be violent and destructive at times. Initially I didn’t take the metaphor for the water and sand to be negative, I thought that the ocean could be Lauren’s never ending protector and she was always close to that protection because she was the sand in the situation. I guess its more a matter of perspective.

  To get your own perspective of the song and its meaning listen to this link below and let me know what you think!

Its Not Fair....All This Judegement

 

Its not fair for their to be a preference of women being gay or bisexual over men. With the media's constant undertone of sex is always includes a man and a woman. 

 Ultimately,I think it comes down to which gender more people would more likely want to watch have sex.Since these relationships are out of the ordinary we treat them more like objects instead of people and their relationships. I've also noticed that men tend to link being gay or bisexual with not being masculine, another reason they're not very open to the subject as far as I've seen.

  The older I get the more I realize how people particularly men tend to be more homophobic towards gay or bisexual men versus gay or bisexual women. When I was dating whenever I would ask my boyfriend anything about gay men he would always have an offensive and rude answer that usually included the word fag  or queer.I never understood why it made him so uncomfortable I mean he was straight and no one was questioning him also because he was okay with women being gay. The more guys I talked to about the subject the more I was seeming to get the same answer. So I started thinking.... was it their personal opinion or were they just saying what they thought they should say based on how most guys act?

 At the end of all of my contemplating I was still stuck with this question...

 Are men more uncomfortable with the thought of something being gay or someone stepping out of their comfort zone ?

 

Ebony Utley's talk on "Rap,Religion and Women"

Ebony Utley's talk on Rap, Religion and Women. In the beginning of her talk Utley said "We all have gangstas inside us". Her definition foe the word was a symbol of what it means to be larger than life and becoming the best person we could possibly be.
  
Utley said it was a symbol of what it meant to be larger than life, the equivalence of God for religious people which caught my attention because I am very religious and I depend on God to get me through my daily struggles. 

I admit I had always thought of the word gangsta in a negative, ragged street-life kind of way, but after listening to her interpretation of the word I feel like in a way I stereotyped it.Which is ironic because I hate stereotypes but I'm human just like you. Furthermore I always thought gangstas just did what they wanted to or what they felt like they had to in order to survive and show off the shiny toys, but now I know it's more to the word.

 Knowing the different definitions of words is important because it's the root of many misinterpretated conversations everyday. The saying-->Its not what you say but how you say it is a good summary of the message I'm trying to get across. i consider myself a open-minded and understanding person but i still stereotyped a group of people based on nothing but my own definition of the word.

 

Pick Yourself Bakc Up...You Got This :)

I believe everyone can relate to this quote, at one point or another in the game of life we have all felt like we kept getting that card in monopoly that tells you to take three steps backward after working so hard to get ahead. Only can the process be frustrating it often withers our ability to bounce back from each hardship we endure. This image is cut and dry, a plain white text on a black background  I like it because it is straight to the point and it doesn't distract from it's purpose.

This quote is so important because positivity seems harder and harder to find these days, the media,television shows and often our daily lives are surrounded with drama and some negativity.Although drama is entertaining to watch every Tuesday no one wants to live in constant drama and problems that they have t to solve.

I'm a realist and often I am so focused on the future and all that I still have to do. In a society that constantly has us feeling like they're is never enough time in the day, it pushes us toward believing that we can always do better or be better. The exposure to society and the media can  push us toward believing that the things we do are never quite good enough. No matter how small I think we all should give ourselves credit for the daily things we do, it"ll build up our confidence and determination.

With all of our fast paced lives we all can use a few seconds to reflect our daily goals not just our long term ones that keep us constantly on the go. I found that making lists of what i need to do and places I need to go  are extremely helpful. they keep me organized and the more things I can get accomplished and cross off the more optimistic I feel. Its important for everyone to know that they are doing a good job in their life and their accomplishments are important.
"Remember how far you've come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be neither where you used to be."-Rick Warren

Sit Down For What You Believe In!!

Rosa Parks made valuable contributions to the Civil Rights Movement of which many people not just African-Americans enjoy today. She personified what it meant to be resilient, strong and get what want done by any means.

This image of Rosa Parks is her mug shot after going to jail yet again, initially it has a negative connotation to it. She has a sort of pissed off look on her face and not a whole lot of emotion in her eyes. Not to mention the fact that she is looked at as such an icon for justice and equality, a jail just is not a place for a person of Park's perseverance and faith.

The reason I believe Rosa Parks is the personification of what it meant to be resilient and be strong is because her faith was so strong in faith in God. By knowing God would bring her out of any situation she always had a sense of fearlessness which I believe is why she is so successful  in her life.

Having a strength and base in something that you feel is bigger than yourself is very important and will take you very far. Whether that be God or not having that outlet often helps us feel more stable in everything that we do.
"I want to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free. I still believe there can be a day when we all have true freedom, a day when we can get along regardless of race.This is not a dream. It is alive within the ability of us all."-Rosa Parks

From Chains and Whips and back again

"Funny how money, chains and whips can make you feel so free" 

- J.Cole 

 

It's so ironic and sad that these rappers don't realize how easily they are being manipulated and shipped around the world to entertain and make money like the CD's their record company produces and like we used to be when we were slaves. They must not realize how many people especially these days are growing up trying to become rappers, it wouldn't be too hard to replace a rapper in the industry. As easily you become famous is how easily you can find yourself back at the bottom

Every last one of these rappers are so quick to say how original they are, yet all their music has the same idea:

Objectifying Women with comments like: "Bitches ain't shit but let me hit"

trying to humiliate their fellow rappers by saying: "These other rappers can't touch me, I make more in a week than they make in a year" 

and my personal favorite "Ain't nobody on my level"

As an actual example here's a quote from the rapper 2 chainz(or as I like to call him too ignorant) "Pull up to the scene with my ceiling missing. Middle finger to my competition. I'm different, yeah I'm different"

Such shallow ideas and they claim to be so deep...smh