Whitman VI

“Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic, 

And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow

zones. 

Growing among black folks as among white, 

Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them

the same, I receive them the same.” 

Whitman provides his view of American/national identity in poem VI. Throughout the poem he expresses the idea of the self and the identification of the self with other selves. Each self is made up of its own characteristics. The American identity is a collection of different types of people including blacks, whites, Kanucks, and Tuckahoes. Whitman treats each of them the same, but the rest of America segregates them. Whitman doesn’t feel like he is any different from any one else including children, or people of different backgrounds and races. Therefore, he believes that everyone should all be treated equally.  In order to do so you must question where we come from, who we are, and how we participate in the circle of life. Everyone goes through the same circle of life no matter their race or background, thus no one shall treated differently and or segregated. A present theme in the poem is the poet’s relationship with the elements of nature and the universe. Whitman uses grass as an analogy for human life, showing how it grows from the soil where the dead have been buried and does not discriminate based on the types of people that have come before it. 

Reflect on a moment (or event, or person, or..?) in your life that has played a significant role in shaping who you are today

The next thing I knew, I was sitting next to the one I loved in the ICU.  His eyes were shut and his hair was still perfectly combed, although it seemed he was hooked up to every possible machine. We all prayed for a miracle. I pleaded, “Just open your eyes buddy. You can do it. Come on Mae. You can’t leave us yet.” Unfortunately, there was no miracle. On July 12, 2014, I said goodbye to Mason. I held his hand, stroked his hair, gave him one last kiss on his forehead and told him that I would always love him.

I had known Mason since pre-school.  As we aged, we became closer and eventually fell in love. My life revolved around Mason. What I wore, what I was doing, everything I did was always an attempt to impress him. We had so much in common. Our relationship was going perfectly, until I lost him.

In the months that followed, I could not stop thinking about him and how much I missed him. My life had changed and I didn’t know how to deal with it. I recall one morning last fall after about three months had passed, my alarm clock went off at its usual time, 6:30am. I went to my closet to pick out an outfit, but nothing seemed to look right. One outfit after another I tried on, ripped off and threw on the ground. There were just too many memories with Mason attached to them. Grief overwhelmed me. I stormed around, slammed doors, and screamed like a child. I dove back into my bed, bit into my pillow and cried, thinking I had the worst life. My room was a complete disaster, and so was I. After a few hours had passed, I finally regrouped and realized that I couldn’t do this to myself any longer; just sitting in bed and crying all day wouldn’t bring Mason back. At that moment, I decided I would make a change. I needed to find ways to make myself happy and get back on a productive path.

A year later, I am sitting in the front of my AP Statistics class with my notebook out and a pencil in my hand, ready to learn. I look down at the “Mason” bracelet on my wrist, and remind myself that I can do this. I am no longer able rely on Mason, but he inspires me to be determined and to work hard to achieve my goals. I am a stronger person today, mentally, emotionally and academically. More resilient and self-reliant, I am now in control of my own destiny. I look forward to college and continuing my transition to adulthood.

Socratic Seminar Response

Our socratic seminar began with Elle’s idea to start with question #1 rather than trying to grasp and discuss the big question. It turned out that question #1 actually grabbed my attention. The discussion touched upon sex and love and dealing with the concepts of pleasure from the standpoint of memory, which are prominent in chapter 12. Throughout the chapter, Ransom and Hyoi are dealing with the conflicts between the two cultures and Ransom spends some time learning, especially after all the fear he has dealt with in the novel. Some only engage in intercourse twice in their life, not for pleasure, just simply for the circle of life. How could you possibly have pleasure with something if you can only have it twice? As humans, we seek to do the act more than once if we want pleasure out of it. Hyoi argues the question of why you would want to do something again and again if we were initially satisfied? He relates it to dinner; if you eat it every day then it becomes a routine and begins to lack the specialness of the event. The key point he tries to prove is that pleasure is fully grown only when it is remembered. We’ve been stewing on this idea that the only thing that is important is the moment and that memory isn’t enough. Here he is giving a different perspective; the memory fundamentally changes, it becomes better. The biggest problem we have as humans and within our society is that when we want things, we genuinely want them right then and there. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Today, we’re never absent. There is absolutely no distance between anything anymore. Privacy is gone. Social media has taken over. We are all in constant communication with everyone. 

Marcus Aurelius Quote

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not a truth.”

There are two sides to every story we hear. Newscasters are supposed to report the truth, but how many times have we learned later that facts had been embellished to make the story more exciting. Sometimes fiction can be more exciting to people than the truth. We live in a world where you must question the things you hear. 

Seeing: sometimes people believe so strongly about something they think what they see is the truth. It's kind of like a good magician. We can often be so biased to see what we WANT to see. Life experiences also give people different perspectives on how they view things. For example, in the recently circulated picture of a striped dress, some saw white and gold and others saw black and blue. Why is that?

Some things we hear our facts. For example, 2+2 is 4. But there are some things we take as a fact because someone has spent a great amount of time researching or convincing a majority to see it the way they do, which then makes the fact based on popular opinion.  

Not everything we hear is a fact, not everything we see is a truth; it’s an exaggeration. Absolute words like everything, nothing, always, never are usually incorrect because there is typically at least a small percent of the time that something can or can't happen. So it would be better to use a qualifier, like "most everything”. 

To me both statements are similar. What we are hearing is someone's interpretation of what is real to that individual, based on what they believe or know. What we see is based on how we compare what we are seeing to what we have seen or experienced before. 

MacKenzie Defined

      The doorbell rings and all three kids sprint to the door. "She's here Mama, she's here". They are dancing around. So excited as they open the door and let me inside. The three, Adeline, Keegan and Brennan; ages 7, 5 and 3, bring a smile to my face as they clamor for my attention, all talking at once. I'm their favorite babysitter.
      I love to babysit. Children fascinate me. I have watched these three grow and develop for several years. I have a keen interest in seeing how their little minds work. They are so easily entertained and they can entertain themselves with their own imaginations. I envy their innocence.
      Young children have so much free time. They have their whole life ahead of them. No worries, no stress, no to-do lists, no deadlines; just living to play, to learn, to grow, to be happy and to love.  As I watch them, I think about life's many stages. I picture a large round staircase with children at the bottom. They have no idea what lies ahead, what its like to be a teenager or an adult.  As children you have tantrums over your toys and not always getting your own way. You have  a meltdown when your mom won't let you have a Popsicle right before dinner. Their life is so different from mine.
      As you climb the stairs, you reach the teenage years. Life becomes real, you take on responsibilities, and often live through tragedies. You stress over tests, the mountains of homework, studying for the ACT, trying to get into college, and even the drama among your peer group. Pressure comes from peers, parents, teachers, coaches and counselors. You are constantly trying to do the "right" thing, hang with the "right" group of friends, wear the cutest clothes, get the most "likes" on Instagram, have the latest iPhone, get great grades, make the soccer team, have the most community service hours, get into a good college. The list goes on and on.
        You keep climbing and you become an adult. You finish college. You stress over deciding on a career and finding a job, marrying or not, paying your bills, etc. If you marry, do you want a family? How about a house? The list is endless.  Life constantly puts obstacles in our path, but somehow we make it through.
         Your climb continues as you become a senior. You are retired, maybe a grandparent. Once again you have more free time, you live more simply, you take time to smell the roses and watch the sunsets. You eat a cookie for breakfast if you want to.  You look back on all the things you stressed over and you laugh.  How little all the materialistic things matter in the big scheme of things.  What matters are the people you cherish, the love you've given and the happiness you've found. Life goes full circle. If you're lucky enough to have grandchildren, you may again be a babysitter to watch and adore another generation as they begin to climb the staircase of life.