Lesson

This week, something that really touched me was the guest speaker.  I felt that he reminded me of Malcolm X, someone that I admire. I think what stood out to me both about the student and Malcolm X was there complete dedication to the ideals and beliefs that they had. I think that there are many people who can talk about what they believe in but there are not as many people who live and exemplify their beliefs in their actions.

The student talked about transformational learning and the way in which is re-learning of Islam impacted his actions. He quoted a verse from the Qu’ran and shared how the lesson he learned was manifested in him giving away his clothes except for the five pants and ten shirts.  I don’t think that there has been anything in my life thus far that I have believed in so whole-heartedly that a transformational learning has occurred within me. This semester I have felt as though the articles, chapter, and ideas we have discussed in the class have each raised excellent points. Some of these ideas I have applied to me readily. Other ideas I feel  are completely on point, but it seems so intimidating to follow through with the implementation of the ideals.

Malcolm X, for example, was a firm believer in the power of Black people. He recognized that Black people were fully capable of making a change in their lives. He preached about community, independence, honor, etc. He also exemplified these beliefs in the way he carried himself. He shared these ideas with those around him, whether or not they wanted to listen to him. I feel that I would be completely intimidated trying to speak to individuals about race or culture because many people feel that these are taboo issues that they do not want to discuss.

        I admire both the student and Malcolm X for not only their dedication but their belief in themselves. I think that sometimes I allow other people to shake my belief in myself and my ideas. I can become insecure in my own identity. This is something that I am currently trying to work on. Hopefully one day I will be just as passionate and dedicated as those two men.

Community Involvement

1.    Loeb suggests parents set models of community involvement or withdrawal for their children. What models would you like to exemplify for your children?

I want to set an example for my children that involvement in the community is EXPECTED of them. Wow, this really touches a never with me this week. There is an online magazine that I read, it’s called Clutch. It is targeted towards African American women. Over the past few weeks of reading the different articles and blogs, the idea of commitment to one’s community has been discussed several times. After reading one article in particular, a comment was made by a reader. She shared that she feels no commitment to anyone or any community, least of all her Black community. She reasoned that unless an individual was directly related to her, a close friend or boyfriend, she felt that she was not obligated to them and vice versa. That really bothered me!

          I strongly feel that we have an obligation to our communities. Whether this be your neighborhood, church, school, nation, etc., I feel that if we are not involved in our community and helping others to make a difference then how can we expect to live in the comforts that we have become accustomed to? Someone out there is helping us or doing something for us so that we can continue to live our lives. Someone is making sure that the water pumps are working so we can take a shower in the morning. Someone is cleaning the streets so that our neighborhoods look nice. Someone else making the clothes that we wear each day. When one of these things is not done or is not being done well, we see the effects of this.  How can we just sit aside and not attempt to make a difference then?

        I am currently not the most active person in my own community. Moving to a new area and trying balance graduate school has been really difficult for me. The adjustment has taken its toll on me in many ways, and my lack of involvement has been one area that was affected. At my undergraduate institution on the other hand, I was very involved and active in my campus community. As I reflect, I remember one day when one of my student organizations picked up trash in a neighborhood close to the school. At first, I was not looking forward to the experience. We were volunteering and had to get up really early in the morning, which I hate to do. But the experience was overall very interesting. I saw a friend of mine who was not involved in our organization, but he decided to help us anyways. I had some really interesting conversations with the members of our organization that day and learned some things about them that I may not have learned otherwise. One person even told us thank you for cleaning up the area. I didn’t realize the benefits that would come along with using one Saturday morning to pick up trash.

        I think that I want my children to realize that their involvement in the community is important and will actually impact someone, whether or not they are aware of it at that moment. I hope that I will not only be actively involved in my community but that my children will also be involved right along with me so that they can see my actions as well as hear my words.

Spring Break Reflection

                So for spring break I came to Ft. Lauderdale, FL to visit my brother and his wife.  It’s been an interesting vacation so far. Tonight, my sister-in-law and I watched this movie called “Day After Tomorrow”. Typically, I do not like these “end-of-the-world” type movies. When we first started watching the movie, I did not realize that it would be that type of movie. But 15 minutes into, I started to realize that I was not going to be like sitting through it. My sister-in-law convinced me to keep watching the movie though, so I did. The premise of the movie is basically that this man who was a scientist of some type, geologist, meteorologist, etc. I’m not sure, was somewhere in Antarctica drilling a hole in the polar ice cap when it began to break a part. He realized that global warming had begun to take drastic effects on the environment and the ice was melting. He then tried to present this information to the VP of USA, but the man was not willing to believe that action needed to be taken immediately in order to preserve nature because it cost too much money. Then strange things began happening all over the world. There was hail the size of beach balls in Japan, horrible ice storms in Europe, etc.  The main character began to recognize that an ice age was occurring and he tried to persuade those around him to see the changes as well. A horrible tornado-like storm destroyed California and hurricane’s began hitting New York. An ice storm then completely destroyed the upper half of North America, killing people who were outside instantly.

                The movie itself was pretty good, once I was able to sit and watch the entire thing. I will probably never watch it again because I don’t really like movies like that, but it really made me begin to think. We have been learning about the environment in this class and how we can have an impact to better our society. While the movie was kind of dramatic in its interpretation of global warming, I think that it really struck me because it depicted a possibility of what can eventually happen to our world as we know it if we are not careful. I think that what I really liked about this movie was that the main character stood up for what he believed in, despite the fact that no one else thought it was real. He spoke out to others, sharing his information with them and tried to encourage the VP to take a stance immediately. Although a move was eventually made and people started to finally believe him, it was too late for the people who lived in the North by then. I also admired the main character’s son. During the movie, he was stuck in New York but was able to speak to his father once. His father told him a deadly storm was coming and the best thing for him to do was stay inside and try to stay warm. A group of people who were at the library with the son decided that it would be a better idea for them to walk out of the city. The son tried to share his father’s advice with anyone who would listen but a older police officer felt that he knew what was better.  I thought that the son was courageous to speak up against older adults and state what he felt was right. He took on a leadership position with the small group of people who stayed behind and they were eventually rescued.  That also connected back to what we have been talking about in class because he stood up for what he believed in. We also see that leadership is not age specific, but instead can be found in any individual who is willing to stand up for what he or she believes is right.

                I felt that that there some great connections in the movie to the ideas we have been discussing in class. I would recommend everyone watching this movie if they get a chance.