Watching the political support that was sparked today in response to the actions of Senator Wendy Davis of Texas is inspiring. Very rarely can a political figure engage in an action that evokes such a large public response. Although I do not think that abortion laws and abortion clinic regulations should be the American public's highest concern at the moment, I think that the focus on women's rights (especially to their own bodies) is important to focus on and give attention too.
Working in policy, it is often that you see how disengaged the majority of people are. I hear about the hearings and briefings on the budget and proposed legislation. I see the small number of people in attendance. AND THIS IS CALIFORNIA! California, the state in the U.S. with the highest population of people.
I want to state that I agree with Wendy's stance. However, if you agree with her stance or not, you should recognize the ability she had to make people in the U.S. pay attention to legislation that effects their everyday lives.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Mentors
Late night talks about the complexities of life are the best.
Tonight's topic: Mentors
Distancing yourself from mentors can be very difficult. You find a difference in values and realize that their guidance is opposite from the direction you want to take. Did they have your best interests in mind?
Or did you pass through the phase that they were able to give you advice about?
Relationships and roles can be so situational. They can evoke different thoughts and emotions that provoke action
Tonight's topic: Mentors
Distancing yourself from mentors can be very difficult. You find a difference in values and realize that their guidance is opposite from the direction you want to take. Did they have your best interests in mind?
Or did you pass through the phase that they were able to give you advice about?
Relationships and roles can be so situational. They can evoke different thoughts and emotions that provoke action
Monday, June 24, 2013
Running from Composure
* Warning: This post is going to be raw.
When the term family is in question, I run emotionally cold. Especially after the last five years.
So, I'm sorry that you think you are in love, because I'm not. I tried to tell you I can't.
While I was in college, my younger brother broke my father's jaw in two places. My father had his jaw wired shut for 2 months. The only caloric intake he had was from liquids through a straw because he couldn't open his mouth wider than that. It got infected.
Did I go home to help? No. I visited, but didn't spend more than 8 hours with him.
My little brother od-ed on heroin and was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. He was in the hospital for days.
I drove to Salt Lake City to see my sister.
My cousin od-ed on heroin Christmas morning. People used to think that we were twins.
I haven't talked to him since then.
My nephew was put into foster care, and my older bother and his girlfriend were sent into rehab.
I've only seen my nephew 3 times.
He got cancer. She fell down the stairs. He went to prison. He was hospitalized for psychological issues. She through herself across the house. He publicly pleaded for help for his life. She lives in a tent.
And when I was sitting in your living room, after he got bailed out of jail, I begged you not to give him money. I watched as his fists knocked the front door off of its hinges. I sat against the door keeping you both apart. And then I watched as he took pieces of your flesh out and ripped a handful of your facial hair out.
And I left. I went to college and talked about Hegel. I lived in a house more concerned with the amount of sodium in the food, and whether someone was vegan/vegetarian than someone's character.
In the process, I left my biological family, and let my ride-or-die made family think I didn't give a shit about them.
Man, I feel all kinds of shitty guilt right now.
When the term family is in question, I run emotionally cold. Especially after the last five years.
So, I'm sorry that you think you are in love, because I'm not. I tried to tell you I can't.
While I was in college, my younger brother broke my father's jaw in two places. My father had his jaw wired shut for 2 months. The only caloric intake he had was from liquids through a straw because he couldn't open his mouth wider than that. It got infected.
Did I go home to help? No. I visited, but didn't spend more than 8 hours with him.
My little brother od-ed on heroin and was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. He was in the hospital for days.
I drove to Salt Lake City to see my sister.
My cousin od-ed on heroin Christmas morning. People used to think that we were twins.
I haven't talked to him since then.
My nephew was put into foster care, and my older bother and his girlfriend were sent into rehab.
I've only seen my nephew 3 times.
He got cancer. She fell down the stairs. He went to prison. He was hospitalized for psychological issues. She through herself across the house. He publicly pleaded for help for his life. She lives in a tent.
And when I was sitting in your living room, after he got bailed out of jail, I begged you not to give him money. I watched as his fists knocked the front door off of its hinges. I sat against the door keeping you both apart. And then I watched as he took pieces of your flesh out and ripped a handful of your facial hair out.
And I left. I went to college and talked about Hegel. I lived in a house more concerned with the amount of sodium in the food, and whether someone was vegan/vegetarian than someone's character.
In the process, I left my biological family, and let my ride-or-die made family think I didn't give a shit about them.
Man, I feel all kinds of shitty guilt right now.
Friday, June 21, 2013
In the night, or should I say more specifically at 3am, I write randomly in journals about the intersectionality of sociological theory and the acquisition and transfer of knowledge. Then I proceed to write emails to the professors that taught me well. I was so said that the best theorist teachers left after my sophomore year of college. I think my last twp years of college would have been incredibly different if they had stayed.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
I'm Wearing it
In the middle of the night, i make collages. They encircle every thought that I have about you. Takes them and morphs them into dreams and ideas for a future reality.
Collecting social norms and disposing them in obscene gestures. It is just knitting, but the embroidery is swear words. It is just sewing, but the stitches are my silence. Yes, the silence that once kept that garment of inequality together is now what is creating my costume for activism. Standing up, clothed in recognition of the experiences that strengthen my claims for freedom.
Collecting social norms and disposing them in obscene gestures. It is just knitting, but the embroidery is swear words. It is just sewing, but the stitches are my silence. Yes, the silence that once kept that garment of inequality together is now what is creating my costume for activism. Standing up, clothed in recognition of the experiences that strengthen my claims for freedom.
You Can Learn to Dance
Even when the rhythm doesn't seem right or you took a long break
in swaying your body in any kind of way.
I'm learning how to dance again. Dancing
in a new way to a new tune. I need to find a different atmosphere, but I
will find it. Then I will put my right foot out and let the rest of my
body follow.
I will dance orange.
Fierce and without remorse.
My moves will burn bold.
I will dance red
Legs effortlessly intertwined in a battle
for space
Lighting the dance floor of my life.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Adventure Time
Well, my flight to Portland turned out not to be as productive as I would have hoped. I sat next to a woman who worked for the Horizon airline and she gave me a tour of Oregon from the sky. The view of Crater Lake was amazing. Unfortunately, I was too embarassed of my excitement to take a photo.
When I landed in Portland I took the MAX light rail to downtown in order to catch the Greyhound to Seaside, but when I arrived I realized that there were no other buses headed to the coast that day. As such, I was stranded in Portland. Walking around the city, I stumbled upon the food trucks and had some friendly conversation. The people of the Pacific Northwest are a rare and kind breed. It was delightful. While waiting for someone to drive the 120 miles from the coast, I had a conversation with a man on the steps of a Korean Church.
So in the end, I didn't write a comprehensive blog post on anything in particular, but I had a great adventure.
When I landed in Portland I took the MAX light rail to downtown in order to catch the Greyhound to Seaside, but when I arrived I realized that there were no other buses headed to the coast that day. As such, I was stranded in Portland. Walking around the city, I stumbled upon the food trucks and had some friendly conversation. The people of the Pacific Northwest are a rare and kind breed. It was delightful. While waiting for someone to drive the 120 miles from the coast, I had a conversation with a man on the steps of a Korean Church.
So in the end, I didn't write a comprehensive blog post on anything in particular, but I had a great adventure.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Forward, Backward Chroniciling
As I am unable to sleep and walking around this late in this neighborhood may alert suspicion, I am giving myself over to chroniciling my thoughts. (Writing the word 'chroniciling' is like endeavoring on a challenge only to find you've mistakenly mastered it.)
There are a few things I have been thinking about lately:
1. How healthy relationship education could be integrated into public systems of education
2. Appropriation of culture vs. Showing respect/admiration/being an advocate
3. The impact that fiscal constraints can have on social anxiety
3. If people realized how to appropriately spend within their means, with an intent to save for emergencies, either people would cease to buy so many material objects OR people would become respective hermits. Within the last 12 months, I became a hermit with occasional outings. I also looked at work travel as personal travel experiences. (NOT THE SAME). Massive burn-out ensues and this is not a great attempt at work/life boundaries.
2. Seriously, FUCK some activists. Appropriating an issue for your personal ego gain to add to your resume as an advocate is annoying. Shut up. I don't value your opinion. I also don't value picking out a small detail of an issue and inflating it to be larger than the main issue at hand. TOUCHE, you may make some valid arguments, but the inability to engage in a knowledgeable manner on important issues makes me seek other avenues for social change and news.
1. Do you think its possible to use best practices in the field of youth development to begin healthy relationship classes or training for educators in primary education? And to get really specific, could we implement youth development principles into education credentials for teachers?
Ahh, teaching with a focus on expertise in material and facilitation of learning based on the foundations of youth development. Well that would be splendid.
There are a few things I have been thinking about lately:
1. How healthy relationship education could be integrated into public systems of education
2. Appropriation of culture vs. Showing respect/admiration/being an advocate
3. The impact that fiscal constraints can have on social anxiety
3. If people realized how to appropriately spend within their means, with an intent to save for emergencies, either people would cease to buy so many material objects OR people would become respective hermits. Within the last 12 months, I became a hermit with occasional outings. I also looked at work travel as personal travel experiences. (NOT THE SAME). Massive burn-out ensues and this is not a great attempt at work/life boundaries.
2. Seriously, FUCK some activists. Appropriating an issue for your personal ego gain to add to your resume as an advocate is annoying. Shut up. I don't value your opinion. I also don't value picking out a small detail of an issue and inflating it to be larger than the main issue at hand. TOUCHE, you may make some valid arguments, but the inability to engage in a knowledgeable manner on important issues makes me seek other avenues for social change and news.
1. Do you think its possible to use best practices in the field of youth development to begin healthy relationship classes or training for educators in primary education? And to get really specific, could we implement youth development principles into education credentials for teachers?
Ahh, teaching with a focus on expertise in material and facilitation of learning based on the foundations of youth development. Well that would be splendid.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
Mirroring in Communication
Noticing how others would like to exchange information in converstaion is key to relating to another person.
A few types of conversationalists that I have most frequently come into contact with:
(I claim, in no way, to be coining scientifitic terms for the tendencies.)
1. Sponges- People who are willing to sit with someone for a certain period of time and just listen. This could be for 5 mins to 3 hours. These people have the emotional maturity to step back and observe.
2. Mirrors- After a certain amount of time this person needs to convey back to the speaker what he/she heard, and may even need to repeat a few concepts over just to make sure that they are understanding correctly.
3. Mirrors and Relaters- This person has the ability to mirror, but does so after every point and then must relate this to a personal story of theirs. (To me, this is the most emotionally draining listener. When the person does this it feels more like a comparison than having a friend just willing to listen to you talk.)
4. Trail Blazers-This is a fancy way of putting.... you say one word and then the person takes over the entire conversation, except for a few uhuhhs and yes's, until you cut them off so that you can leave.
In the world, there are many other types and ways of listening. However these came to mind, because today I needed a sponge, but I couldn't find one. I tried to sympathize with the other person, because I feel like the mirror/relater is more of the style that he/she feels comfortable with. Yet, I still feel like I need to talk but am so drained that I don't think I could verbalize my points anymore.
A few types of conversationalists that I have most frequently come into contact with:
(I claim, in no way, to be coining scientifitic terms for the tendencies.)
1. Sponges- People who are willing to sit with someone for a certain period of time and just listen. This could be for 5 mins to 3 hours. These people have the emotional maturity to step back and observe.
2. Mirrors- After a certain amount of time this person needs to convey back to the speaker what he/she heard, and may even need to repeat a few concepts over just to make sure that they are understanding correctly.
3. Mirrors and Relaters- This person has the ability to mirror, but does so after every point and then must relate this to a personal story of theirs. (To me, this is the most emotionally draining listener. When the person does this it feels more like a comparison than having a friend just willing to listen to you talk.)
4. Trail Blazers-This is a fancy way of putting.... you say one word and then the person takes over the entire conversation, except for a few uhuhhs and yes's, until you cut them off so that you can leave.
In the world, there are many other types and ways of listening. However these came to mind, because today I needed a sponge, but I couldn't find one. I tried to sympathize with the other person, because I feel like the mirror/relater is more of the style that he/she feels comfortable with. Yet, I still feel like I need to talk but am so drained that I don't think I could verbalize my points anymore.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
The Fosters
Foster Care Alumni Network of America, California Chapter, had a special pre-screening of the new ABC Family series The Fosters tonight at the Tower Theater in Roseville, California.
Wow, so many thoughts on this show. I can't share all of them yet, but it is definately a must watch and I will find a television to tune in every Monday. While I have some very real critiques, mainly due to the fact that Hollywood has a way of masking or glossing over certain details, I find that the way the producers engage with foster care issues and lesbian issues to be surprislingly tasteful and progressive.
Tune in. Watch it. Educate yourself about the issues, and if you can't find the correct resources ask someone to help you. ( After the screening, we had a group discussion and a man took over and inserted his conservative agenda over the entire show. I find it necessary to point out that you may need to famarilize yourself with some thing after-the-fact because we don't always come to the table knowing everything, and that's okay.)
More thorough critique when it airs.
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