Chris Saksa
This past Monday our school hosted an information session on alcohol abuse, the effects it has on the individual, and also those around them. The school brought four Loyola Alums to come to speak about how alcohol has taken them to rock bottom, and how, through programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, they ascended back to normalcy. The heartfelt stories revealed the dangers and consequences of drunken late night escapades and the realization of a problem. The informational session was successful in that it allowed the audience to connect (All once Loyola students) and understand what the costs of alcohol abuse are.
After a short introduction by Jan Williams, head of Loyola’s Alcohol and Drug Education
and Support Services, the first speaker was given the microphone. He briefly discussed his background and how as an eleven year old boy he began to develop a problem. The man’s parents were philosophy professors who each had their PHDs and he lived in a sound family environment. Although his parents provided a safe and caring environment, they still occasionally threw parties were heavy drinking was involved. As an eleven year old kid, he explained, his curiosity began to grow to what was his missing out. Soon enough he found himself fumbling through his parent’s liquor cabinet to give it a try. Immediately he thought he found a cure for all of his life’s problems. This was where, as he discussed, his life spun out of control. After years of alcohol and drug abuse, at eighteen he realized he had a problem. Through the program AA he found God and a world that did not involve alcohol abuse. The meetings, similar to this one, keep him from drinking and allow him to deliver his message through his story. Now a happily married Loyola alum his story, while being unique, had many common themes that connect with youths and provided an example that should help students avoid following his same path . He concluded with a few closing thoughts on how to not end up in the same situation and then the second speaker took center stage.
The second speaker, also a man, told a similar story of how alcohol once controlled his life. He discussed how he moved to a new area and how alcohol was his way to “fit in”. His alcohol and drug use allowed him to “become the guy he wanted himself to see”. Now popular with all his friends he began to use drugs and drink even more heavily. This downward spiral led to imprisonment where he found his “vision of clarity”. This was the moment in his life where he realized he needed change. This realization led him to fourteen years of sobriety, and a new lease on life. His story shares many similarities to the final speaker, who also found herself at rock bottom and used AA to reach sobriety. After being imprisoned and struggling with relationships in her life she decided to seek help. These stories all showed how they overcame this life-changing disease and how they now lead lives of normalcy. However, the third speaker shared a much different story.
The third speaker was a current Loyola student who was still struggling with a drinking problem and had only been sober for about a week after multiple relapses. His story seemed so genuine because he was currently living through the struggle as he addressed the audience. He spoke just as one of any of the room would have so his story really hit home for me. It seemed so easy to connect with his story that his message was that much stronger. Overall the lecture for me was a great learning experience and allowed me to realize the true struggle of alcoholism.
This lecture can easily be branched into our class discussion about Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants. Hemingway’s story depicts a man pressuring a woman into getting a procedure that she does not want. The struggle of peer pressure links directly to the pressure that is involved with consumption of alcohol by those on a college campus. This is presented in all the speakers’ stories on how they were pressured to drink because they could not handle stress or needed to fit in. In addition, the man depicted in the short story constantly tries to convince the woman to go through with the undesired procedure. The theme of both Hemingway’s story and the stories told at the lecture Life after the Party sends the message to not forego your moral decisions as a result of outside pressure, because the decisions you make can alter your life.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
"Life After the Party"
An event that I attended was “Life After the Party.” This event featured various Loyola Students who spoke about real life stories about drug us and alcoholism. Every student who spoke had a different story to tell about a point in their lives when they had gotten into drugs or alcohol, and were struggling to escape. Everyday these students remember their past, and have to work extremely hard to fight these problems and keep them away. The four students spoke passionately and openly about the problems they faced, and hoped to influence Loyola students to be smart about their college social lives.
The first speaker is out of college and happily married with children, but began drinking when he was only 11, and also began doing drugs at a very young age. He explained that he lost most of his friends and was no longer accepted by many people. When he finally realized that he needed help, he went to rehab for two years, then went on to community college, and from there he continued his education at Loyola. He explained that he decided to live off campus because he was scared about drinking again on campus with the other students. He continues to go to AA meetings to stop him from ever drinking again. The second student was his roommate in the off campus house. He began drinking at a young age as well, but realized that he didn’t do it just to party but because he was upset. He went to jail when he was in high school, but after getting out he attended AA meetings. Today, he has been sober for about 14 years. The third student explained how she didn’t want to be involved with parties and drinking at Loyola, and so she stopped drinking the summer before college, in hopes of avoiding the need to once she moved in. However, she couldn’t stay sober for even a month, and so she worked with Loyola’s Alcohol and Drug Education and Support Services program, and was able to become sober once again. The final speaker is still attending Loyola today. He has been in trouble with the school several times, and soon realized that he did not want to be a bad kid. He too began attending AA meetings, but stopped when he realized that he would be fine without them. Then just a couple days ago he began drinking again, now, he has been sober for about a week.
This event related mainly to the story- “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway. In the story, a man is trying to pressure his girlfriend into having an operation. From his words, we can assume that he wants her to have an abortion. This story relates directly to the event because they are drinking and he is peer pressuring her. The man is called “the American” and the girlfriend’s name is Jig; Jig does not want to have the abortion, but the American keeps telling her to do it. This shows that he truly does not care about her in any way, and only worried about how the baby would affect his own life. He seems to discuss something extremely significant over drinks, which may suggest that he is trying to get her drunk in order for her to agree with him. Peer pressure is often the reason why people make stupid decisions without thinking first. College life is full of peer pressure, and it’s hard to avoid socializing through drinking and parties. People must learn to avoid these situations and only listen to what their conscience tells them to do.
The first speaker is out of college and happily married with children, but began drinking when he was only 11, and also began doing drugs at a very young age. He explained that he lost most of his friends and was no longer accepted by many people. When he finally realized that he needed help, he went to rehab for two years, then went on to community college, and from there he continued his education at Loyola. He explained that he decided to live off campus because he was scared about drinking again on campus with the other students. He continues to go to AA meetings to stop him from ever drinking again. The second student was his roommate in the off campus house. He began drinking at a young age as well, but realized that he didn’t do it just to party but because he was upset. He went to jail when he was in high school, but after getting out he attended AA meetings. Today, he has been sober for about 14 years. The third student explained how she didn’t want to be involved with parties and drinking at Loyola, and so she stopped drinking the summer before college, in hopes of avoiding the need to once she moved in. However, she couldn’t stay sober for even a month, and so she worked with Loyola’s Alcohol and Drug Education and Support Services program, and was able to become sober once again. The final speaker is still attending Loyola today. He has been in trouble with the school several times, and soon realized that he did not want to be a bad kid. He too began attending AA meetings, but stopped when he realized that he would be fine without them. Then just a couple days ago he began drinking again, now, he has been sober for about a week.
This event related mainly to the story- “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway. In the story, a man is trying to pressure his girlfriend into having an operation. From his words, we can assume that he wants her to have an abortion. This story relates directly to the event because they are drinking and he is peer pressuring her. The man is called “the American” and the girlfriend’s name is Jig; Jig does not want to have the abortion, but the American keeps telling her to do it. This shows that he truly does not care about her in any way, and only worried about how the baby would affect his own life. He seems to discuss something extremely significant over drinks, which may suggest that he is trying to get her drunk in order for her to agree with him. Peer pressure is often the reason why people make stupid decisions without thinking first. College life is full of peer pressure, and it’s hard to avoid socializing through drinking and parties. People must learn to avoid these situations and only listen to what their conscience tells them to do.
John Allen'sMegatrends in Catholicism: Ten Things Turning the Catholic Church Upside Down
Despite the closing of hundreds of parishes and catholic grammar schools in the United States, Catholicism stands on the verge of a promising new age globally. In his lecture last Monday entitled “Megatrends in Catholicism: Ten Things Turning the Catholic Church Upside Down,” Dr. John Allen, Jr., characterized several trends that have and will continue to mold the Catholic Church throughout the 21st century. Though trying to remain relatively positive, Dr. Allen, the senior Vatican analyst for CNN, NPR and the National Catholic Reporter, made it clear that the changes the Catholic Church will undergo in the upcoming years will either make or break the great success and growth that the Church has experienced in the past one hundred year.
Though the title of the lecture led many to believe that Dr. Allen would cover all ten of the topics covered in his book (which he was not afraid to shamelessly plug just in time for the holiday season…), he chose to cover what he felt were the four biggest trends the Church is facing. His first trend, the emergence of a world Church, described a necessity for Catholicism to evolve into a “self-consciously global religion.” Though the Church may appear to be on the decline in the States, in the past century the number of Catholics worldwide has gone from 266 million (in 1900) to 1.1 billion (2000) with a large amount of this growth occurring in the global south. It is this increase that has lead Dr. Allen to believe that the future tone of Catholicism is to be set by the global south. This tonal shift will be from a speculative systematic theology to a more literal understanding of the narrative of the Bible with emphasis on the miracles of the New Testament. It is also in the south where the Church has directly involved itself in politics (the polar opposite idea of the US’ concept of separation of church and state). Dr. Allen believes that the church will play a much larger role in politics in the future due to this globalization of the church.
The second trend was the emergence of evangelical Catholicism in Europe, which basically pertains to the understanding of faith as a personal choice rather than something simply passed down from generations to generations among families. What Allen finds somewhat alarming is that although the Vatican, located in Europe, in the cultural center of the Catholic world much of Europe around it decline that faith is important in their lives. Though there is an emphasis on the traditional Catholic identity, the importance of this emphasis seems to be thrown into the wind in such countries as Poland where the percentage of people who regard their Catholic roots as important is in the teens.
The third, and what I found to be most interesting trend dealt with the biotech revolution and what the power of genetics holds for the future. We must ask ourselves whether or not it is right to wield the power and play the role of God. We are entering an age of Transhumanism. We now have the power to direct the next step in human development; we must ask ourselves if we should use it.
The fourth and final trend dealt with economic globalization. Though great efforts have been made to help impoverished countries it simply has not been enough. We live in a world where a combined three people make more money than the combined revenue of 42 impoverished countries and the rich have a tendency to only become richer.
In his final statement, Dr. Allen left the crowd with only a few words regarding one’s personal shift into this new age school of thought: think as a global Catholic. Each of the issues he talked about are rich with the potential to create new catholic energy but can also deepen the holes that already exist in Catholicism and therefore the future of Catholicism relies not only on the institution but on the individual as well.
Though this lecture may not have pertained to any of Dickinson’s poems, the theme of change in Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” was the major concern of Allen. Like the American and the girl in Hemingway’s story, the Church is facing a huge change in the near future. This change has the potential to alter everything we as Catholics understand about religion’s role in our everyday lives. Ultimately what it comes down to is that change is a part of life and there is no way to avoid it. It is something we all must face.
Congo Cell Phone
For my event analysis this week I participated in the noon to six-cell phone turn off. The assignment was too “Turn off your cell phone for six hours to bring awareness of the Congo's conflict over coltan, a natural resource that is used in ALL cell phones. Eighty percent of the world’s reserve of coltan comes from the Congo. Over 5 million people have died as a result of the scramble for coltan and other natural resources in the Congo.” This was a really interesting and actually a fun assignment.
Turning off my cell phone for six hours was bit of an inconvenience for me, but overall it wasn’t so bad. I hadn’t realized how much I rely on my phone for simple things such as time. I had to find clocks everywhere to find out the time or ask someone. I also couldn’t text my roommates to meet me in Boulder for lunch or call my mom to tell her how my Math exam went. As frustrating as it was I realized I became more appreciative of what I have. Every time I went to look at my phone I would remember why it was shut off and it really made me wonder what my life would be like if we didn’t have cell phones. Would life be better for people in the Congo if cell phones weren’t in high demand in the U.S.? The responses to my voicemail message about the Congo were interesting and entertaining. My first message was from my mom, “Catie, I think your voicemail said something about turning your phone off to raise awareness about something going on in the Congo. I think it’s really great you are getting involved with something like this, call me after to tell me more about it.” So I did call her and I told her all about what I was doing and informed her on the issues in the Congo. It felt great to able to know I was informing people about concerns in the Congo. My friend’s responses were the most entertaining ones. I received messages such as “Wait, what are you doing? Or Whats going on in the Congo? or even you go girl!” As uplifting and hilarious as these messages were it made me a little worried that people didn’t seem to know what is going on in the Congo.
Dickinson’s poems for this week all share a common theme of death, which connects to my Congo event. Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for death” illustrates a ride to death. The people aboard the carriage watch the world of mortality around them as they pass into the afterlife. I can only imagine that this situation must be what people in the Congo go through everyday. They are afraid and never know if each day they will wake up to death or keep suffering through this terrible war. Also in Dickinson’s poem “ Success is counted sweetest” she writes “As he defeated-dying- On whose forbidden ear The distant strains of triumph Burst agonized and clear.” This means that while the soldier is defeated and dying he is still triumphant, meaning you must fight for what you believe in and for what is best for you and your country. In the Congo people are fighting to stay alive and fighting to help end this horrible war. As Dickinson says “To comprehend nectar Requires sorest need.” To achieve what you want you must fight and sometimes suffer for what you believe in to make it come true and change the world around you.
Turning off my cell phone for six hours was bit of an inconvenience for me, but overall it wasn’t so bad. I hadn’t realized how much I rely on my phone for simple things such as time. I had to find clocks everywhere to find out the time or ask someone. I also couldn’t text my roommates to meet me in Boulder for lunch or call my mom to tell her how my Math exam went. As frustrating as it was I realized I became more appreciative of what I have. Every time I went to look at my phone I would remember why it was shut off and it really made me wonder what my life would be like if we didn’t have cell phones. Would life be better for people in the Congo if cell phones weren’t in high demand in the U.S.? The responses to my voicemail message about the Congo were interesting and entertaining. My first message was from my mom, “Catie, I think your voicemail said something about turning your phone off to raise awareness about something going on in the Congo. I think it’s really great you are getting involved with something like this, call me after to tell me more about it.” So I did call her and I told her all about what I was doing and informed her on the issues in the Congo. It felt great to able to know I was informing people about concerns in the Congo. My friend’s responses were the most entertaining ones. I received messages such as “Wait, what are you doing? Or Whats going on in the Congo? or even you go girl!” As uplifting and hilarious as these messages were it made me a little worried that people didn’t seem to know what is going on in the Congo.
Dickinson’s poems for this week all share a common theme of death, which connects to my Congo event. Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for death” illustrates a ride to death. The people aboard the carriage watch the world of mortality around them as they pass into the afterlife. I can only imagine that this situation must be what people in the Congo go through everyday. They are afraid and never know if each day they will wake up to death or keep suffering through this terrible war. Also in Dickinson’s poem “ Success is counted sweetest” she writes “As he defeated-dying- On whose forbidden ear The distant strains of triumph Burst agonized and clear.” This means that while the soldier is defeated and dying he is still triumphant, meaning you must fight for what you believe in and for what is best for you and your country. In the Congo people are fighting to stay alive and fighting to help end this horrible war. As Dickinson says “To comprehend nectar Requires sorest need.” To achieve what you want you must fight and sometimes suffer for what you believe in to make it come true and change the world around you.
Hemingway and Dickenson
The story of Odysseus is one that shows true heroism in any form that the tale is told; the play this weekend clearly demonstrated the power of this incredible tale and introduced me to ideas that were also invoked by the poems, “Tell all the truth but tell it slant-,” “Success is Counted Sweetest-,” “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died,” “Because I could not stop for Death,” by Emily Dickinson and the short story “Hills like White Elephants.” The play brought to life many different virtues and ideas that can be compared to these works of literature and to individuals’ everyday lives. As Odysseus struggles desperately through various obstacles, he is optimistic and determined to return to his family in Ithaca.
The play relates to Emily Dickenson’s poem, “Tell all the truth but tell it slant,” in several ways. One place where there is a prominent relation is when Odysseus, returns home disguised as a beggar. This part of the story in comparison to Dickenson’s poem brings up various questions of truth and honesty. In one case, when Odysseus returns home he is disguised as a beggar and works his way through all the suitors to his wife and son. He eventually proves himself without removing the disguise and his wife knows that it is him home at last. In this situation Odysseus is being his true self, but he is ‘slanting’ the image. He appears to be someone else, but acts as himself. This leads others to be deceived but he finds out that those who he is important to, truly know him and love him for who he is on the inside. Also at one point Odysseus withholds his name so that he will not be treated in any unfavorable way. In this situation he did not lie, but he did not tell the whole truth. This is partially what is meant in Dickenson’s poem, that when it is wise, don’t tell the entire truth, and that you can learn a lot about how others view you based on the truths you tell.
The entire story is a perfect example of Dickenson’s next poem, “Success is Counted Sweetest.” The constant pain and struggling that Odysseus went through only increased his determination and desire. With each moment of failure, loss or defeat Odysseus is only growing stronger. Although he is constantly being shot down and mislead it is all building towards a sweeter ending. After suffering so much hardship, it is finally relieving and rewarding for him to be with him family. At this point where he is recognized and welcomed home, all of his hardship becomes worth it and he appreciates every moment with his family from then on. This is directly related to Emily’s poem where the idea is spelled out a little more directly. She very simply gets the point across that those who experience loss and defeat experience a greater power of success. If Odysseus had not experienced all those hard times, he would not have appreciated his success at such a high level.
The poem, “I heard a fly buzz—when I died,” and, “Because I could not stop for death,” both very obviously deal with the idea of death. Each poem depicts death in a fairly similar way. The reader comes away with the idea that death is deceiving, lonely and sad. Of course there are other ways that death can be depicted, but in these cases it is certainly more of a negative event. These poems relate to the play in that death is a prominent character in the play. It takes so many lives and threatens so many others that it seems to be a person, similar to the way that it is personified in Dickenson’s poems. More specifically death relates to the latter of the two poems listed in that no one can hide from death, and life cannot be taken for granted because one never knows when there times is up. As death may be a ‘gentleman’ sometimes, there are times where he can show up unannounced. Death’s character in the play the Odyssey is ever present, but does allow Odysseus to continue fighting in order to feel a sweet power of success.
Lastly the play relates to the short story “Hills like White Elephants,” in a much lighter way. I feel that the short story is almost sad but leaves the reader with the moral that you have to do what is right for you, and sometimes ignore the influences of others. If you don’t do something for yourself how can you have the motivation to do it right or finish it? The play clearly depicts someone who is doing everything for himself. If Odysseus wasn’t acting on his own wishes he would have failed early on in the story. Similar to the short story the decisions he makes are based on love, but he makes the decisions without pressure and they are true desires of his own as opposed to making decisions for someone out of pressure and bullying.
Loyola’s version of the Odyssey was based off the original by Homer, which was an incredible piece of literature. This work is so moving and important that it is easily be related to all sorts of works and bring the reader to all sorts of conclusions and morals. Emily Dickenson’s poems and Hemingway’s short story are only a few examples of this; they are very different works but all somehow tie back to this epic play.
The play relates to Emily Dickenson’s poem, “Tell all the truth but tell it slant,” in several ways. One place where there is a prominent relation is when Odysseus, returns home disguised as a beggar. This part of the story in comparison to Dickenson’s poem brings up various questions of truth and honesty. In one case, when Odysseus returns home he is disguised as a beggar and works his way through all the suitors to his wife and son. He eventually proves himself without removing the disguise and his wife knows that it is him home at last. In this situation Odysseus is being his true self, but he is ‘slanting’ the image. He appears to be someone else, but acts as himself. This leads others to be deceived but he finds out that those who he is important to, truly know him and love him for who he is on the inside. Also at one point Odysseus withholds his name so that he will not be treated in any unfavorable way. In this situation he did not lie, but he did not tell the whole truth. This is partially what is meant in Dickenson’s poem, that when it is wise, don’t tell the entire truth, and that you can learn a lot about how others view you based on the truths you tell.
The entire story is a perfect example of Dickenson’s next poem, “Success is Counted Sweetest.” The constant pain and struggling that Odysseus went through only increased his determination and desire. With each moment of failure, loss or defeat Odysseus is only growing stronger. Although he is constantly being shot down and mislead it is all building towards a sweeter ending. After suffering so much hardship, it is finally relieving and rewarding for him to be with him family. At this point where he is recognized and welcomed home, all of his hardship becomes worth it and he appreciates every moment with his family from then on. This is directly related to Emily’s poem where the idea is spelled out a little more directly. She very simply gets the point across that those who experience loss and defeat experience a greater power of success. If Odysseus had not experienced all those hard times, he would not have appreciated his success at such a high level.
The poem, “I heard a fly buzz—when I died,” and, “Because I could not stop for death,” both very obviously deal with the idea of death. Each poem depicts death in a fairly similar way. The reader comes away with the idea that death is deceiving, lonely and sad. Of course there are other ways that death can be depicted, but in these cases it is certainly more of a negative event. These poems relate to the play in that death is a prominent character in the play. It takes so many lives and threatens so many others that it seems to be a person, similar to the way that it is personified in Dickenson’s poems. More specifically death relates to the latter of the two poems listed in that no one can hide from death, and life cannot be taken for granted because one never knows when there times is up. As death may be a ‘gentleman’ sometimes, there are times where he can show up unannounced. Death’s character in the play the Odyssey is ever present, but does allow Odysseus to continue fighting in order to feel a sweet power of success.
Lastly the play relates to the short story “Hills like White Elephants,” in a much lighter way. I feel that the short story is almost sad but leaves the reader with the moral that you have to do what is right for you, and sometimes ignore the influences of others. If you don’t do something for yourself how can you have the motivation to do it right or finish it? The play clearly depicts someone who is doing everything for himself. If Odysseus wasn’t acting on his own wishes he would have failed early on in the story. Similar to the short story the decisions he makes are based on love, but he makes the decisions without pressure and they are true desires of his own as opposed to making decisions for someone out of pressure and bullying.
Loyola’s version of the Odyssey was based off the original by Homer, which was an incredible piece of literature. This work is so moving and important that it is easily be related to all sorts of works and bring the reader to all sorts of conclusions and morals. Emily Dickenson’s poems and Hemingway’s short story are only a few examples of this; they are very different works but all somehow tie back to this epic play.
Hemingway and Dickinson
Over the past few weeks at Don Miller house, I constantly have been reminded of the importance of communication and presence, which can be directly connected with tonight’s readings on silence and acceptance. Every week when I walk into the house, Dee Dee and Sergio greet me at the door. I usually try to ask them what they did during the day but I receive blank stares. The answer is always nothing. Even though I am pleased to hear that the highlight of their day is when Loyola kids come to hang out, it also makes me incredibly sad. I enjoy spending time with Dee Dee, but our activities never consist of anything super exciting. I often have to ask Dee Dee to repeat what she says, because it is difficult for me to understand her, and I feel bad at the look of frustration on her face. On last Wednesday when we were playing BINGO it was a challenge to decipher which letters and numbers she was calling out. I realized that although we were not always communicating correctly, we were still together. I was keeping her company for the night, and she seemed happy. I let go of my frustration, decided not to call out BINGO even though I won. I relaxed and cheerfully, enjoyed our time together.
In Ernest Hemingway’s short story Hills Like White Elephants, the two characters are having a tough time communicating. The topic is very serious, because it seems that the man is asking his younger girlfriend to have an abortion. I was reminded of Dee Dee, because the two characters are not letting each other have room to think. By the end of the story the girl asks her boyfriend to please stop talking. Sometimes I felt like I was trying too hard to figure out what Dee Dee or Sergio was trying to say, but if I just relaxed, conversation might run smoother. Although this short story deals with a harder subject matter, they might need to do the same thing.
This acceptance of beliefs, that the two characters must reflect on, in order to make their hard decision reminded me of the Emily Dickinson poem Because I could not stop for Death. In this poem, death is personified and the narrator fully understands and agrees to the call of her demise. She is not afraid, but actually refers to Death as kindly. The characters in the Hemingway story need to accept their fait, just like the narrator in the Dickinson poem does. I also need to accept whatever is thrown at me when I visit my friend Dee Dee and Sergio. Even if I get confused or frustrated I need to relax and just use the gift of presence. Another Dickinson poem reminded me of Hemingway’s story. Tell all the Truth but tell it slant--. The girl in the story does not seem to be telling her boyfriend the truth of what she wants to do. The poem enforces this idea of not speaking the truth, and therefore I disagree. After further reflection I realized that I do speak in slant. In my story mentioned above about BINGO I slanted the truth in order to allow DEE DEE to win the round. It seems that we all must slant the truth sometimes.
In the Dickinson poem called Success is counted sweetest, this story reflects on the idea that success must look different to those who are not part of the winning crowd. My immediate response reflected back to Don Miller House, and how they always have no response to my question of “what did you do today?”. I wondered if when Dee Dee listens to my stories of school and presentations she looks upon it as success. She makes her day out to be so boring, and mine is always filled to the brim, as I explain to her all of the other activities I have planned for the night. Perhaps I am taking all of this “success” for granted and I decided that it is important to accept what is going on, but to also look at everything from many angles, to fully appreciate life.
Dickinson’s next poem also caused me to look at life from a different angle. In I heard a Fly buzz--- when I died-- the narrator is dying, but all she can talk about is a fly. I’m not sure whether this is good thing or a bad thing. One way I saw the situation was that she was not obsessing over death, which is inevitable. I also could take the poem in a negative light, because the narrator could be unhappy with her life and not be able to reflect on anything at all. This reminded me right back to Dee Dee and Sergio, who make their lives sound unimportant to them. Everyone’s life is extremely significant, so I hope over the semester I can create excitement in their lives.
In Ernest Hemingway’s short story Hills Like White Elephants, the two characters are having a tough time communicating. The topic is very serious, because it seems that the man is asking his younger girlfriend to have an abortion. I was reminded of Dee Dee, because the two characters are not letting each other have room to think. By the end of the story the girl asks her boyfriend to please stop talking. Sometimes I felt like I was trying too hard to figure out what Dee Dee or Sergio was trying to say, but if I just relaxed, conversation might run smoother. Although this short story deals with a harder subject matter, they might need to do the same thing.
This acceptance of beliefs, that the two characters must reflect on, in order to make their hard decision reminded me of the Emily Dickinson poem Because I could not stop for Death. In this poem, death is personified and the narrator fully understands and agrees to the call of her demise. She is not afraid, but actually refers to Death as kindly. The characters in the Hemingway story need to accept their fait, just like the narrator in the Dickinson poem does. I also need to accept whatever is thrown at me when I visit my friend Dee Dee and Sergio. Even if I get confused or frustrated I need to relax and just use the gift of presence. Another Dickinson poem reminded me of Hemingway’s story. Tell all the Truth but tell it slant--. The girl in the story does not seem to be telling her boyfriend the truth of what she wants to do. The poem enforces this idea of not speaking the truth, and therefore I disagree. After further reflection I realized that I do speak in slant. In my story mentioned above about BINGO I slanted the truth in order to allow DEE DEE to win the round. It seems that we all must slant the truth sometimes.
In the Dickinson poem called Success is counted sweetest, this story reflects on the idea that success must look different to those who are not part of the winning crowd. My immediate response reflected back to Don Miller House, and how they always have no response to my question of “what did you do today?”. I wondered if when Dee Dee listens to my stories of school and presentations she looks upon it as success. She makes her day out to be so boring, and mine is always filled to the brim, as I explain to her all of the other activities I have planned for the night. Perhaps I am taking all of this “success” for granted and I decided that it is important to accept what is going on, but to also look at everything from many angles, to fully appreciate life.
Dickinson’s next poem also caused me to look at life from a different angle. In I heard a Fly buzz--- when I died-- the narrator is dying, but all she can talk about is a fly. I’m not sure whether this is good thing or a bad thing. One way I saw the situation was that she was not obsessing over death, which is inevitable. I also could take the poem in a negative light, because the narrator could be unhappy with her life and not be able to reflect on anything at all. This reminded me right back to Dee Dee and Sergio, who make their lives sound unimportant to them. Everyone’s life is extremely significant, so I hope over the semester I can create excitement in their lives.
CELL OUT
A massive “Cell-out” was in order from 12-6 PM on Wednesday. Congo week, as I talked about in my last blog entry, has had a lasting effect on me, especially with regards to the video about rape, which encouraged me to participate in this cell-out. Congo is actually a world leader in the production of a mineral that is in most technology…including cell phones. Since the video about rape in Congo really opened my eyes, I figured I would give the cell-out a try, not only because it sounded like an interesting thing to do, but to see if I could spread awareness about what is currently going on in Congo.
As I turned off my phone I wondered to myself, “what do cell phones and murders in Congo have to do with each other?” Then I read a little further into what this cell-out was actually about. Just like the controversy of diamonds that Africa has a monopoly on, there is a similar situation with a mineral by the name of Coltan. People are using cell phones every day not thinking about where they come from; a place where brutal rapes and murders of women and children occur everyday. I figured maybe if I could draw some attention to the situation people would think twice next time they buy electronics or cell phones.
Momentarily as I was recording a new message, part of the assignment, and I could not think of something that would get the point across, and at the same time also make people actually care about Congo. My message ended up being for six hours as follows. “Hey it’s Kevin, I’m here, but I’m not picking up because of the BRUTAL RAPES AND MURDERS GOING ON IN CONGO. Everyday people use cell phones which contain a mineral only found in Congo, a place in total chaos. If I care this much, so should you, next time your free check out congoweek.org or google it. Later” I found it very weird how people did not seem to be bothered by what was happening, and I am sure that before I spent all this time learning about the Congo, neither would I.
“Who cares, its like a million miles away?” “Everyone has cell phones, I’m not going to stop using mine!” These were a few of the answers I got when I told people about what I was doing. As far as the message goes, I am not that popular, therefore the only message I had at 6 pm was from my parents, but at least they became aware of how this serious situation has affected me.
All three works assigned for homework helped drive home this reality of what is going on in our world. Dickinson really helps to portray how good some people have it and no one can imagine what it’s like to have to face death so early in life. I cannot imagine what the people in Congo have to go through, death is a scary thing, and thousands of people have to deal with it on a daily basis. Maybe turning off my cell phone for six hours will not stop what is going on in Congo, but my awareness was definitely raised, as well as my parents. Hopefully what Loyola has done to bring awareness to this horrible situation in Congo will succeed and soon this massacre will end. I am glad to have participated in this cell-out. It helped me to realize how important issues across the globe are, it raised awareness in other people’s lives, and on a smaller scale taught me that my cell phone is not as important as it seems, and I’m lucky just to be alive.
As I turned off my phone I wondered to myself, “what do cell phones and murders in Congo have to do with each other?” Then I read a little further into what this cell-out was actually about. Just like the controversy of diamonds that Africa has a monopoly on, there is a similar situation with a mineral by the name of Coltan. People are using cell phones every day not thinking about where they come from; a place where brutal rapes and murders of women and children occur everyday. I figured maybe if I could draw some attention to the situation people would think twice next time they buy electronics or cell phones.
Momentarily as I was recording a new message, part of the assignment, and I could not think of something that would get the point across, and at the same time also make people actually care about Congo. My message ended up being for six hours as follows. “Hey it’s Kevin, I’m here, but I’m not picking up because of the BRUTAL RAPES AND MURDERS GOING ON IN CONGO. Everyday people use cell phones which contain a mineral only found in Congo, a place in total chaos. If I care this much, so should you, next time your free check out congoweek.org or google it. Later” I found it very weird how people did not seem to be bothered by what was happening, and I am sure that before I spent all this time learning about the Congo, neither would I.
“Who cares, its like a million miles away?” “Everyone has cell phones, I’m not going to stop using mine!” These were a few of the answers I got when I told people about what I was doing. As far as the message goes, I am not that popular, therefore the only message I had at 6 pm was from my parents, but at least they became aware of how this serious situation has affected me.
All three works assigned for homework helped drive home this reality of what is going on in our world. Dickinson really helps to portray how good some people have it and no one can imagine what it’s like to have to face death so early in life. I cannot imagine what the people in Congo have to go through, death is a scary thing, and thousands of people have to deal with it on a daily basis. Maybe turning off my cell phone for six hours will not stop what is going on in Congo, but my awareness was definitely raised, as well as my parents. Hopefully what Loyola has done to bring awareness to this horrible situation in Congo will succeed and soon this massacre will end. I am glad to have participated in this cell-out. It helped me to realize how important issues across the globe are, it raised awareness in other people’s lives, and on a smaller scale taught me that my cell phone is not as important as it seems, and I’m lucky just to be alive.
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