Defining Me.

Defining oneself to me is difficult to put into words. For me, when I define myself, I pull from many different sources. For example, I may define myself by how I act, how I treat other people, how I dress and present myself, or even how I speak and communicate with other people. For me in particular when I think about this question, I am drawn to thinking that I define myself with simply “who I am”.
I define myself primarily through what I believe in. I am an avid believer in helping and serving other people for the better of the community and world, and a lot of people see me as that. For example, when I looked at what people wrote about me on my back during that exercise in class, I found that many people see me as the “kind, charitable, do-gooder” kind of girl. I guess I take this as an accomplishment because that is essentially me, but at the same time, I almost wish people could see a deeper layer of me.

I also define myself through how I present myself to my friends, family, and even strangers. I always try to be “true to myself”, which basically means for me to show compassion to those around me. I communicate to people in a way that is friendly and relatable, which ironically are my characteristics.

Defining myself also come through my clothes and appearance. Although this is not by any means what I mainly base myself upon, it is still a valid and important part of me. I often times show my personality and mood through my clothing choices. If I am tired, I will not “try as hard” to look put together as opposed to other days when I make an effort to look nice and “stylish”. I define myself in this way because appearance is what people first judge you on. People who I do not even know are judging me based upon my looks.

In the novel Speak, although the characters are fictional, they still define themselves as humans in real life do. For example, the cheerleaders that Melinda describes are peppy and full of spirit: a stereotypical cheerleader. Melinda also describes how they can sleep with every football player on Saturday night, but by Monday morning, they are seen as virginal goddesses. Sadly in the novel, the cheerleaders define themselves plainly as cheerleaders. That is their social status, which they take pride in, therefore, the cheerleaders will define themselves as just that.

Another group of people within the novel is the clique “the Marthas”. These girls pride themselves in their charitable efforts, school organizations, and matching outfits. This, like the cheerleaders, is what the Marthas define themselves by. This clique, like any other clique within the novel, separated itself from everyone else into a “compatible” group of people whom which they can define themselves by.

Unlike in the novel Speak, I do not define myself by who I choose to hang out with or let those people define me. I am my only ruler and will define myself in the ways I think are effective. And unlike Melinda, I will speak my mind rather than be shut away into nothingness.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent? How about no.

Before I start answering the prompted question, I really want to say how much I enjoyed class yesterday. I like how we don’t always have to follow a certain styling of teaching and can explore the topics we discussed in class. Thanks for letting us be able to do that, Wes.
After our class discussion yesterday, I have come to realize that those kinds of class debates and pieces like “Little Brother” can easily fit into my every day life. Upon going into our discussion, I really only knew minimal and generic information about China and censorship. By hearing other people’s opinions about the reading and current situation in China, it allowed me to form an opinion about censorship and the government.
This type of book, “Little Brother” and the lessons we learn in class do allow me to utilize literature in my life in “real and significant ways”. For example, from our discussion I now am aware about ACTA. I now have a substantial opinion about the “three strikes and your out” concept. Through and class discussions and debates, I know that I don’t think ACTA is right. I do not want someone controlling my Internet usage for the rest of my life if I just so happen to do something illegally. There is no chance in hell that something so simple yet so complex will work.
Also through our class yesterday, I can apply the idea of terrorism and the monitoring of my Internet history. For example, if I just so happen to be searching how to make a bomb and the history of Al Qaeda does not make me a terrorist. Therefore, by no means do I want someone miles away filing me as “suspicious” for my recent activities online. I know that the government is trying to keep me safe, but I really do enjoy my privacy. The whole topic is very much so conflicting me at times.
“Little Brother” is helping me form my personal opinion about the world around me. Just because there is a terrorist attack does not mean that the statement “innocent until proven guilty” should be flipped around into “guilty until proven innocent”.