Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Reflecting Back on English 101D
Reflecting on my work in English 101D for Winter 2010-11, I would like to start by saying my name is Wendolyn Palmblad, although I prefer Wendy. I am thirty-five year old divorced mother of two beautiful girls, fourteen and eleven years old respectively. I am also a caretaker to my boyfriend’s three wonderful children, one girl, fourteen and two boys, eleven and seven years old. I was born and raised in Gresham, Oregon and have also lived in California, Colorado, Arizona and currently, Washington. As many times as I have left the Pacific Northwest, I always find myself drawn back to it. It holds a place in my heart and nothing is better than being home in the Northwest. Although I currently live in Everett, Washington; Portland, Oregon will always feel like my true home. I adore Portland and know the streets like the back of my hand. I have many fond memories spent all over the city. Loving a place dearly doesn’t mean you can always be there though. Life grabs hold and reality sets in. So here I am back in college and making a fresh start. In all the goals I have set for myself in life, being a good mom has always been number one. I pride myself in teaching my children how to be good kids and at the same time, teaching them how to be themselves. I love people and being a mom plays into that. I am a caretaker by nature. I worry extensively about other people and want the best for them. After years of searching for what I should do with my life and trying my hand at a few careers, I decided to go back to school for Nursing. Now that the kids are old enough and out of the day care age, it was a good time. I began my journey towards Nursing five months ago and rediscovered my love for writing. English 98 was one of my first classes and it brought back my love for writing. With English 101D, a diversity class, I have enjoyed all the writing and loved the different prospectives offered in the assigned readings.
The class has been divided into three sections: Identity, Community and Tradition. All of which have really pushed me to think outside my little bubble. Although I don’t think of myself as sheltered or naïve, I never really have thought much about how other cultures are different yet the same as mine. The entire course has stretched my brain, forcing it to wrap around new thoughts. Even thoughts that for other cultures and communities are nothing new, it was eye opening to me. I had no idea that in the Latino community, there were derogatory phrases only aimed at women. Never applied to a man. I learned this in Gloria Anzaldua’s essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, “Hocicona, repelona, chismosa, having a big mouth, questioning, carrying tales are all signs of being mal criada. In my culture they are all words that are derogatory if applied to women- I’ve never heard them applied to men.” The unit on identity really opened my eyes to who we are as individuals and how we get to be who we are. In Emily White’s “High School’s Secret Life” she wrote about the different tribes the teenagers encounter. It brought me back to my own high school cafeteria, but also opened the door to conversations with my children about their cafeterias and what goes on at lunch time. Being an active parent is important to me and knowing what goes on in my kid’s lives is essential. For my portfolio, I chose to include my identity blog “What’s In Your Wallet?” so showcase the identity portion of the course.
In the next section, Community, I learned about how we gravitate toward communities that are accepting of who we are as individuals. A community isn’t just a group of people enjoying the same things; it’s a place to grow as an individual. A place to feel comfortable or a place to stay until you can move into the community you feel more welcome. A community isn’t about location or neighborhood; it’s about people who come together. I chose to include my discussion board posting “The Rules” and my community themed paper “Conjunction Junction, A Community’s Function” as part of my portfolio. Building on the Identity and Community sections is a lesson referred to as “Intermission”. For this, I watched the movie “District 9”. It was a perfect blend of community vs. individual. Although I love this movie, I really feel like I should have chosen another movie. By watching it so many times and analyzing it so in depth, I feel like I have almost killed all the fun out of it. My boyfriend didn’t want to hear a word about my analysis for fear I would kill it for him too. I don’t blame him a bit! My teenagers got the earful and I was able for persuade them to give it a chance and watch it. They loved it too! It was another thing I took from my learning in this class and applied it to parenting. I am a multi tasker by nature.
With the final section on the course, Tradition, I was able to read about the traditions of others and laugh. It’s so great to know that the traditions you carry on aren’t all that weird. There are others out there doing the same thing. Some of us are forsaking our traditions to begin new ones, or to put our own twists on them. Learning about tradition also brought up the thoughts and analysis of pop culture. Reading how other classmates see pop culture as a positive or a negative was enlightening. I follow pop culture, but there were many thoughts and discussions I couldn’t have pondered on my own. With so much pleasure in this section in the readings and the writings that I have chosen to include my tradition blog “Green Stuff” in my portfolio. This blog is one of my favorite writings not only for this course, but in general. It was fun to write and very rewarding to have others read.
Although the writings I did for this course were assigned with a prompt, everything I write is personal. Whether it’s an analysis, opinion or just for fun, it is from the heart. I try to keep my voice in there and not sound like a textbook or a robot. I hope everyone enjoys reading what I write as much as I enjoy writing it!
Introducing The Rules
For my critical thinking piece, I have chosen my posting titled “The Rules”. The prompt asked students to consider and provide insight into David Berreby’s observation “We want to live in tribes…[people] are looking to be told what group they belong to. And then once they do that, they want to know ‘What are the rules’” (123). The readings I chose to include showcased my understanding of analysis by blending the observations of the readings to drive home the point of the prompt. In my analysis of the readings, I chose to state “It truly depends on what the rules are and how they apply to each individual person. That individual person then decides for themselves if they will choose to partake in the rules and comply, thus be accepted into their tribe.” I was then able to blend an Amish community, an Anorexia community and a Barbie collector community into one piece by showing that each community has it's own set of rules.
The Rules
Rules are a major part of our daily lives. From laws to restrictions, they tell us where, when, how many of everything we can or can’t have or do. It can bring us comfort or can bring us stress. It truly depends on what the rules are and how they apply to each individual person. That individual person then decides for themselves if they will chose to partake in the rules and comply, thus be accepted into their tribe. In John A. Hostetler’s “The Amish Charter” he supplies the reader with the Ordnung of a Christian Church. This lays out the rules and restrictions from the size of a hat “to be black with no less than 3-inch rim and not extremely high in the crown” (p. 143) to “No insurance. No photographs” (p. 144).The Amish people know their rules and it carries them through as a community knowing exactly where they stand. They are willing to keep severed ties with the outside world for the greater good of their community. Even to the extreme of excommunication and shunning, they know that if they do not follow the rules, this will be their fate. The threat of shunning is a last resort, but the strongest of all rules to keep the tribe together in their common beliefs. Each individual is deciding if the outside world is worth the price of excommunication or deciding that the Amish community is truly where they belong.
Some rules are not so obvious or written out for all to see. In Mim Udovitch’s “A Secret Society of the Starving” she states “But she does have self-devised rules and restrictions regarding eating, which, if she does not meet them, make her feel that she has erred” (p. 151). The pro-ana teen knows the main rule is starving and may not have all of the rules, but to be part of the tribe of pro-anas, she has devised her own rules and restrictions. As long as she fits the basic mold of what the rest of the tribe is looking for, she is in. She is taking the rules of the community and adding her own rules into the mix. It allows her to better fit into her community.
Not all tribes and communities have straight forward rules. Sometimes it a common interest that becomes a rule. For example, if you collect Barbie Dolls, then there is your common interest and the rule. To be a part of the tribe, you must be a collector. It doesn’t matter if you are a “de-boxer” (terrible!) or you keep the dolls in the boxes which give them character and value. The choice is the collector’s own, but they are still a collector nonetheless. In Shari Caudron’s essay “Befriending Barbie” she states “But since spending time with the Barbie collectors, I’ve begun to realize that I’m, well, um, envious of the Barbie collectors. I envy their enthusiasm. Their deep connection with one another. Their ability to shriek with delight over a pair of Patio Party earrings just marked down 20 percent. I want what they have, what the rock collector has, what Angela has, and am willing to go to extraordinary lengths to get it. Or at least understand it” (p. 175). Excitement and an abundance of enthusiasm is the rule for a Barbie Collector. Believe me, I know. With over ninety Barbie Dolls in my collection, I know that embarrassing my daughters by squealing and bursting into tears over a new doll in a Toy’s R’ Us has become a way of life for us. It’s the passion that brings me together with other collectors. The passion to hold on to something that was so special as a child that you can not give in to the rule of being too old for dolls. I am not too old for dolls. I love each and every one of them. The passion for Barbie is what makes me part of the Barbie community.
Introducing a New and Improved Conjunction Junction a Community’s Function
Although I was pretty proud of my community paper, it could use some revising. I got carried away with the word “conjoin”, trying too hard to be clever at keeping my introduction useful. The assignment was to answer the question: What is the function of communities in our lives? Secondly, the paper needed to explain the costs and benefits, positive and negative influences, if they foster conformity, if our self-interest is connected to the interests of others and if there is a sacrifice of an inner-life or self-identity in the need to belong. I believe I did address all of this, however, I failed to avoid the “you talk” and headed off target in a few places. I have revised the paper and I believe it is now strong and on target.
Conjunction Junction A Community’s Function: Before and After
Conjunction Junction a Community’s Function
“Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?” That tune still gets caught in my head every time I hear it. Thinking about it more, I realize I have never really thought about what a conjunction is other than an English class term. A conjunction is the act of conjoining, or a combination. But it’s not just for sentences and grammar; it can be applied in terms of people. A conjunction junction is a community. People conjoining in one common goal or interest. They are looking for support from one another. This can be anything from sports, family, geography or even an online game where people interact with each other for a common goal. The function of a community is to conjoin people that share a common interest and provide support to one another in order to obtain an individual goal.
For generations community members have conjoined together to lend support to one another. For example, In the late 1800’s Swedes immigrated to Gresham, Oregon. They would build houses near each other and support each other with family needs and in commerce. As Swedish was their first language, it was easier for them to have the conjunction of language with each other. When I interviewed my eighty two year old Grandmother, Clara, she told me that when new immigrants would arrive, other Swedes in the area would greet them and help them with any supplies they might need. She said “they were comforted in the strange new land by the common histories they shared and the language that was familiar.” As the population grew, the next generation was able to act as translators to English speaking communities and commerce grew from one culture into multiple cultures sharing supplies and doing business together. The smaller immigrant communities conjoined into larger communities to better support each other. Clara stated that “this was most apparent in schools where the children would form their own small school community.” With plays and sports, the children would be able to conjoin their families into the school community. They did this not only in English class, but formed a conjunction junction of support from a school community to a sports community to the larger city community.
As communities grow larger and the generations pass, technology has advanced. Supporting each other within a community no longer has to be a face to face interaction. It can also come from an online community. The internet based PC game, World of Warcraft, currently boasts a fifteen million active subscriber community. With so many people online at any given time, smaller communities form. These appear as guilds. A guild is a group of people who support each other by giving advice, helping with objectives, grouping together to play or even supporting players in game financially. The guild may have three people in it or a larger guild may have hundreds of players. As a member of a two guilds, I have found the support and the knowledge invaluable. Since everyone within the game is obviously a gamer, the judgment of being a gamer is lost. Players can go online at any time throughout the day and chat with other players. They may be seeking an escape from day to day life or need some time to just relax. Other players are also conjoining for this same purpose. In Mim Udovitch’s “A Secret Society of the Starving” her interviewee, Claire, states “But at the end of the day, I can go online and talk to them there, and they know exactly what I’m going through and how I feel. And I don’t have to worry about them judging me for how I feel” (151). This translates to any online community. In World of Warcraft, players are able to maintain privacy in their personal lives and become someone they want to be. Each individual chooses for themselves how much information they will give out. They can choose how active they want to be in the community. I can chat with my guild members about day to day life or ask detailed questions relating to game objectives. Recently, I divulged to my Guild Master that my children were members of the guild. She was so supportive in understanding my need for a safe environment. The guild captains immediately put a monitoring system in place to make sure that players of all ages can experience a good time without negativity. This allows the guild to conjoin in support of one another in a safe and friendly environment.
For those players who decide that a guild isn’t a good fit for them, the internet can serve as a conjunction junction to provide much needed resources and support. A recent Google search for World of Warcraft help brought up over fourteen million results. There is a plethora of information online to help a new player navigate the World of Warcraft. The players have built a community outside the game of web pages and message boards for support. The support on these pages ranges from how to locate an item to how to advance a character a certain way. In “MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless” they explore a comedic take on the social network and loss of friends. “Corey “Aqualad” Friesen, 18, of Danville, IL appeared to share Mancuso’s fear about manual and analog socializing. “I vaguely remember trying to make friends pre-Myspace, but in 16 years, I only made three real friends,” Friesen said. “If I have to revert back to face-to-face friend gathering, I would be middle aged before I built that number into the double digits. I’d definitely never get back into the hundreds again” (160). Being a part of a community doesn’t mean knowing someone’s deepest darkest secrets. It is conjoining together to be a part of a community that supports you. From playing a game to dressing a doll, it’s about people helping you obtain your goal.
Obtaining your goal may be just being yourself and conjoining with other who share the same interests. In Shari Caudron’s “Befriending Barbie” she quotes Debbie Baker, an avid collector of over 3,000 Barbie dolls as saying “Those of us who love Barbie light up whenever we see anything to do with her. We love the dolls. We love the clothes. We love the Barbie ‘B’. And pink. We really, really love pink” (168). The common interest in the Barbie Collectors community is not only Barbie herself, but also the clothes, the ‘B’ and pink. In World of Warcraft, some of the traits are the love for video games and the dedication to balancing the online world with the real world. In either community, members conjoin to support one another in their interests. Finding the perfect mint box Barbie Doll to getting a horse to ride in World of Warcraft, members of each community need the support of their fellow members to obtain their goals.
Most individuals have an interest that they want to share or receive support from others. Even if one wants to be isolated and alone, eventually they will find themselves at a conjunction junction. The need for support in daily lives is always present, making the need for communities important. Advancing a World of Warcraft character from level one to level eighty five all alone isn’t possible. Players must conjoin just as the Swedish immigrants did: using each other to communicate, in commerce and in junctions. The function of a community is to conjoin people that share a common interest and provide support to one another in order to obtain an individual goal.
Revised Version:
“Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?” That tune still gets caught in my head every time I hear it. Thinking about it more, I realize I have never really thought about what a conjunction is other than an English class term. A conjunction is the act of conjoining, or a combination. But it’s not just for sentences and grammar; it can be applied in terms of people. A conjunction junction is a community. A community made up of individuals coming together in one common goal or interest. They are looking for support from one another. This can be anything from sports, family, geography or even an online game where people interact with each other for a common goal. The function of a community is to bring people together that share a common interest and provide support to one another in order to obtain an individual goal.
For generations, community members have come together to lend support to one another. For example, In the late 1800’s Swedes immigrated to Gresham, Oregon. They would build houses near each other and support each other with family needs and in commerce. As Swedish was their first language, it was easier for them to communicate with each other. When I interviewed my eighty two year old Grandmother, Clara, she told me that when new immigrants would arrive, other Swedes in the area would greet them and help them with any supplies they might need. She said, “they were comforted in the strange new land by the common histories they shared and the language that was familiar.” As the population grew, the next generation was able to act as translators to English-speaking communities and commerce grew from one culture into multiple cultures sharing supplies and doing business together. The smaller immigrant communities morphed into larger communities to better support each other. Clara stated that “This was most apparent in schools where the children would form their own small school community.” With plays and sports, the children would be able to combine their families with the school community. They did this not only in English class, but formed a conjunction junction of support from a school community to a sports community to the larger city community.
As communities grow larger and the generations pass, technology has advanced. Supporting each other within a community no longer has to be a face-to-face interaction. It can also come from an online community. The internet-based PC game, World of Warcraft, currently boasts a fifteen million active subscriber community. With so many people online at any given time, smaller communities form. These appear as guilds. A guild is a group of people who support each other by giving advice, helping with objectives, grouping together to play or even supporting financially with in-game monies. The guild may have three people in it, or a larger guild may have hundreds of players. As a member of a two guilds, I have found the support and the knowledge invaluable. Since everyone within the game is obviously a gamer, the judgment of being a gamer is lost. Players can go online at any time throughout the day and chat with other players. They may be seeking an escape from day-to-day life or need some time to just relax. Other players are also logging in for this same purpose. In Mim Udovitch’s “A Secret Society of the Starving” her interviewee, Claire, states, “But at the end of the day, I can go online and talk to them there, and they know exactly what I’m going through and how I feel. And I don’t have to worry about them judging me for how I feel” (151). This translates to any online community, including the online gaming communities.
For those players who decide that a guild isn’t a good fit for them, the internet can serve as a conjunction junction to provide much needed resources and support. A recent Google search for World of Warcraft help brought up over fourteen million results. There is a plethora of information online to help a new player navigate the World of Warcraft. The players have built a community outside the game of web pages and message boards for support. The support on these pages ranges from how to locate an item to how to advance a character a certain way. In “MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless” The Onion explores a comedic take on the social network and loss of friends. “Corey “Aqualad” Friesen, 18, of Danville, IL appeared to share Mancuso’s fear about manual and analog socializing. “I vaguely remember trying to make friends pre-Myspace, but in 16 years, I only made three real friends,” Friesen said. “If I have to revert back to face-to-face friend gathering, I would be middle aged before I built that number into the double digits. I’d definitely never get back into the hundreds again” (160). Being a part of a community doesn’t mean knowing someone’s deepest darkest secrets. It is coming together to be a part of a community that supports the individuals within it. From playing a game to dressing a doll, it’s about people helping each other obtain their goals.
Obtaining a goal may be mean teaming up with others who share the same interests. In Shari Caudron’s “Befriending Barbie” she quotes Debbie Baker, an avid collector of over 3,000 Barbie dolls as saying “Those of us who love Barbie light up whenever we see anything to do with her. We love the dolls. We love the clothes. We love the Barbie ‘B’. And pink. We really, really love pink” (168). The common interest in the Barbie Collectors community is not only Barbie herself, but also the clothes, the ‘B’ and pink. In World of Warcraft, some of the traits are the love for video games and the dedication to balancing the online world with the real world. In either community, members fuse to support one another in their interests. Finding the perfect mint box Barbie Doll to getting a horse to ride in World of Warcraft, members of each community need the support of their fellow members to obtain their goals.
Most individuals have an interest that they want to share or receive support from others. Even if one wants to be isolated and alone, eventually they will find themselves at a conjunction junction. The need for support in daily lives is always present, making the need for communities important. Advancing a World of Warcraft character from level one to level eighty five all alone isn’t possible. Players must merge just as the Swedish immigrants did: using each other to communicate, in commerce and in junctions. The function of a community is to unite people that share a common interest and provide support to one another in order to obtain an individual goal.
Works Cited
Caudron, Shari “Befriending Barbie”, Latterell 167-177.
Latterell, Catherine G. ed. Remix, Reading + Composing Culture, Second Edition, New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010, Print.
The Onion, “MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless”, Latterell 158-161.
Udovitch, Mim, “A Secret Society of the Starving”, Latterell 149-157.
Introducing Audience and Voice: Green Stuff
I chose my blog titled “Green Stuff” to include in my ePortfolio to illustrate my awareness of audience and voice. I was aware that everyone has a family. Families bring memories, good and bad. Not all families may come together for the holidays or have a traditional dish, but they are at least aware that this occurs. For me, Green Stuff is not only a dish, but also a wonderful memory. I use my voice in this blog to get that memory across to my audience. Keeping in mind that the audience may not have large families as I do, I tried to get across that even the smallest dish can make a lasting memory. Writing and posting this blog in a public arena was wonderful. I not only posted it for the class to read, but also posted on Facebook and received many amazing comments from my family. Their love of Green Stuff is just as dear as mine.
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