{first of all, i think this song is hilarious... but it is directly associated with the topic of this discussion. lyrics at the bottom of this post}
Although I have a hard time recognizing the difficulties faced by the student’s in these essays, I have been the outside witness to their situations in many instances, and can empathize in my own way, though different.
Two of the friends that I have made this year have similar stories to those expressed by these authors. (I’ll leave their names out just in case). Both are in architecture with me. One is male, and is openly gay, and the other is female and is Mexican American. To me, meeting new people is always an opportunity to make another relationship, and grow as a person because of what other’s have to offer, and I would never want to discriminate against anyone because of something they believe, or a quality that they were born with.
Take the first, for example. He is an outspoken gay man who is very into fashion and celebrates the life that he lives. Some of his choices I find questionable, but would question anyone who made that choice regardless of orientation. I have had many conversations with him where he has responded to situations like Miquel Ramirez did in his essay in saying “I have always had to deal with outsider status and I have accepted the benefits that come from it, although I’ve always felt tension around it too” (842). I am proud of my friend for standing up for what the way that he leads his life, and when people try and come up to me to gossip about his decisions, I make sure they understand that every person has the right to their own life and desires, and shouldn’t be stripped of those privileges.
The other friend that I have was my desk partner last semester, and we have become really good friends. I, and others, often tease her when she mixes Spanish and English words together in the same sentences with the correct pronunciations of words. Stupid things even about what she chooses to eat. At times she gets frustrated with me because she thinks I mock her by trying to learn how to say these things correctly, but the multi-cultural quality that some possess is something that I truly wish that I had, although I am sure it comes with a price. At our desks one day last semester, another student was talking to the kid sitting next to me openly about how he believed every “Mexican was a wetback”. Not only did I feel completely uncomfortable having people around me saying something like that, I made sure to ask my friend (who was Mexican) how she felt about his comment. Her reaction was surprising, “I am used to it”. Like Ramirez’ again she has always felt that her “place in this country [has] often been questioned, and her access to the culture and language has always been tentative” (842).
{a group of my close friends around Christmas time: Asian, White, Mexican, African American, Muslim, Catholic, Baptist}To me, the ultimate ignorance in humanity is denying others of what they believe, and taking away their independence and individuality. We, no matter what race, are all discriminated against, but that does not justify the reproduction of such actions. We all have our pasts, and experiences that shape us, just as Anthony Luckett claims the difficulty of “thinking outside of the past because… history is documented in who [we are] as persons” (863). His entry stood out to me the most because I would have never imagined the societal difficulties posed by being Asian-African American. The poem in the beginning of his article says people “asked me to write about why choosing or choosing not to choose sides is relevant in my life” (860). I believe the choices that dictate our lives should not be based upon ethnicity, orientation, or sex, but rather how to celebrate life and capitalize on the offers it poses.
American society has matured in understanding what makes this nation so beautiful is the diversity of culture and the people within its parameters. I delight in knowing that I get to experience what others can show me about the cultures that they were brought up in, and we now progress as our own individuals, malleable and incessantly changing.
[Talking:]
Is that India.Arie? What happened to her hair? Ha ha ha ha ha
Dat dad a dat da [4x] Dad a ooh
[Verse 1]
Little girl with the press and curl
Age eight I got a Jheri curl
Thirteen I got a relaxer
I was a source of so much laughter
At fifteen when it all broke off
Eighteen and went all natural
February two thousand and two
I went and did
What I had to do
Because it was time to change my life
To become the women that I am inside
Ninety-seven dreadlock all gone
I looked in the mirror
For the first time and saw that HEY....
[Chorus]
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations no no
I am not my hair
I ma not this skin
I am a soul that lives within
[Talking:]
What'd she do to her hair? I don't know it look crazy
I like it. I might do that.
Umm I wouldn't go that far. I know .. ha ha ha ha
[Verse 2]
Good hair means curls and waves
Bad hair means you look like a slave
At the turn of the century
Its time for us to redefine who we be
You can shave it off
Like a South African beauty
Or get in on lock
Like Bob Marley
You can rock it straight
Like Oprah Winfrey
If its not what's on your head
Its what's underneath and say HEY....
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend? Oooh
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
I am expressing my creativity..
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
[Verse 3]
Breast Cancer and Chemotherapy
Took away her crown and glory
She promised God if she was to survive
She would enjoy everyday of her life ooh
On national television
Her diamond eyes are sparkling
Bald headed like a full moon shining
Singing out to the whole wide world like HEY...
[Chorus 2x]
[Ad lib]
If I wanna shave it close
Or if I wanna rock locks
That don't take a bit away
From the soul that I got
Dat da da dat da [4x]
If I wanna where it braided
All down my back
I don't see what wrong with that
Dat da da dat da [4x]
[Talking:]
Is that India.Arie?
Ooh look she cut her hair!
I like that, its kinda PHAT
I don't know if I could do it.
But it looks sharp, it looks nice on her
She got a nice shaped head
She got an apple head
I know right?
It's perfect.
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