My New Understanding of the Writing Process

Before I enrolled in English 225, Academic Argumentation, I thought I understood the writing process. However, two weeks into the class I realized I was completely wrong in this assumption. Slowly, throughout the semester I learned through the study of identity, about rhetoric, the art of argument, and how different rhetorical situations can be created in order to argue in very specific ways. I have come to understand the rhetorical situation of inquiry to focus on writing about the exploration of ideas and sources. Inquiry seems to allow the writer to explore a field of interest by evaluating what different sources think and then formulating an opinion based on all of the findings, leading to the formulation of a thesis. The writing process fully describes the writers thought process and details their comparisons amongst sources, their opinions on sources, and the progression of their ideas. Ultimately this type of paper gives a writer a free space to write about how they came to their thesis or conclusion on an issue. I learned that in this type of rhetorical format it is important to have strong transitions in order for the reader to clearly follow your thought process.

The writing process for the next rhetorical situation, convincing, was very different. This strategy required the formulation of a thesis, the defining of a specific target audience that needed to be convinced, and different academic sources to constitute the reasons and evidence of the argument. This process is unique because it only employs ethos and logos, and aims to convince the audience of the writers claim. However, the rhetorical situation of persuasion added the component of pathos, in order to appeal to the reader’s emotions. Once again in this writing process it was essential to clarify and define a specific target audience that needed to be persuaded in order to persuade them based on their common belief system. The combination of ethos, pathos, and logos can persuade an audience to not only agree with the writer but want to take an action. In each rhetorical situation the elements of clear transitions, defining an audience, and making revisions to drafts are essential components in the writing process.

Overall, the way I think about the writing process has vastly and dramatically changed after taking this class. Before this class I felt bound to the five paragraph essay format and had never written a paper longer than six pages. I also was afraid of writing and dreaded it. Now I feel I have acquired new knowledge that has allowed me to become comfortable writing longer papers that employ different rhetorical situations. I have also gained an awareness of my audience which allows me to more accurately write for them and create effective arguments. In addition, I feel my transitions and grammar have greatly improved, which allow my reader to follow my thought process with greater ease. The methods that we learned in class, such as theme/ new theme and nominalizations have allowed me to make my writing clearer and more concise, which make it more effective because the audience is better able to understand me. I feel that despite my thoughts prior to beginning the class, I have in fact greatly improved as a writer throughout the course of the semester, and am extremely grateful for this.

Semester Reflection

At the beginning of the semester I was extremely hesitant about writing blogs because I really did not quite understand what they were or what their purpose was. I began the semester by strictly following Brett's guidelines with the goal of trying to get a good grade in the class. I originally thought blogs were busy work and would become frustrated when trying to think of ideas to write about. I had a poor attitude about the class in general because of the bad experiences I have had in my other English classes, and could not understand why English 225 was needed for a movement science major and to gain admissions into medical school. However, after a short period of time my attitude changed. I am not quite sure what triggered this transition, whether it was Brett's enthusiasm about writing and the ways she presented the material that emphasized its relevance in all fields of study, or if it was the excitement of getting to research and write about topics that actually interested me and I desired to learn more about, but either way I began to enjoy the class. I actually began to enjoy asking questions and trying to use identity theorists to help me answer them. I think at this point in the semester my blogs became more enjoyable and I think this can be seen in the content and writing. I began to ask questions that were of sincere interest to me and used the blog as an avenue to explore ideas. I never before had found writing as therapeutic and satisfying as I do now. I find that I am now perfectly comfortable sitting down and just writing what is on my mind or analyzing the rhetorical elements of a paper or idea or presentation.

I think one of the most important things I have learned from this class is the importance of knowing your audience, or according to Charland, calling or creating an audience. I never before realized the crucial role that one's audience plays in one's argument, but essentially you need an audience to argue with and by defining and understanding your audience you are more effectively able to argue a point of view and take a stance. My writing has greatly changed as a result of this knowledge. I began my blogs by writing about things without providing explanations and assuming that whoever was reading my blog understood what I was talking about, which is entirely not true. However, now that I understand the importance of audience I feel I can draw on the common knowledge that I share with them in order to create an appealing and persuasive argument. I learned in my inquiry and convincing paper that I need to explain to the reader what my thought process is and explain how I go from one idea to the next, something I had previously just assumed that they knew. I have also learned how to draw from multiple credible sources to support my arguments and of the rhetorical significance of doing so. Overall, I feel I have learned so much from this semester and feel my writing has greatly improved and I feel more comfortable writing. I would like to thank Brett and my classmates for this.

The Importance of Physician Patient Understanding

Today in English 225 class, Payel gave a presentation on the importance of medical school students using the biopsychosocial approach when treating patients. I thought she both persuasively and effectively explained how physicians need to be educated on how to learn about both the physical and emotional aspects of their patients in order to give a proper diagnosis and effectively treat them. I found that her presentation and my presentation were similar in respect to the fact that we feel if doctors understand their patients they can provide more effective treatment. All the research I have done on my topic has explained that physicians who have a disease or have experience being a patient can relate and empathize more with their patients, making them more understanding and more able to connect and help them. It seems that another option to attaining a more personable physician-patient relationship when the physicians do not have experience being a patient or I have a disease may be using this approach that Payel argues for. In order for physicians to fully understand their patients they should use a biopsychosocial approach. This method allows a physician to really get to know the patient and the person and not just the person's disease and physical ailments.

The most appealing aspect of this biopsychosocial approach is that it facilitates a stronger relationship between the physician and the patient. I think this occurs because patients see that their doctors are making a strong attempt to get to know them and understand what other aspects; psychological, emotional, or social, are playing a role in their lives and may possibly be contributing to the disease state that their patients find themselves in. In using this approach patients become more comfortable with their doctors by having the opportunity to talk to them and explain themselves without just having to get examined and diagnosed within ten minutes. The approach also provides the doctors with a broader knowledge of their patients and the things that they do, which allows the doctor to better understand where the physical ailments are coming from. By getting to know all aspects about their patients and their lives, physicians can connect with their patients and make them feel comfortable and secure that they are receiving the best possible treatment since the doctors know everything in their lives that could be leading to a symptom. Both Payel's presentation and my presentation explained the necessity for physician understanding of where their patients are coming from in an effort to provide more effective treatment. Physicians need to really understand their patients and to do so need to devote time and energy to getting to know them, rather than just seeing them for ten minutes, giving hem medication, and sending them on their way to deal with the adverse effects their new conditions will have on their identities. They should take the time to get to know the different aspects of their patients lives so that they know how to more effectively and efficiently treat them. The understanding that doctors seek in this case proves to lead to more effective treatment options for patients, and can be best employed by using the biopsychosocial approach when visiting with and treating patients.

Home Care for elderly patients vs. Residential Care Facilities

In English 225 class yesterday one of my fellow students gave a presentation arguing for increased use of home care treatment for Alzheimer's patients. She gave a persuasive argument which really made me think about the available treatment options for elderly patients who are slowly losing their motor skills, memories, and the ability to properly and adequately perform basic tasks and care for themselves. Although I found the presentation to be very effective, I feel that the decision to enter a residential care facility or pursue home care is situational and is largely dependent on the family of the elderly person and the person with the condition as well. Although home care is a great way to keep families together, it is not always the best or most convenient plan for some families.

For one, some families that consist of full time working parents and young children may find it difficult to care for a sick parent and find enough time to complete all of their daily tasks in addition to caring for and providing the proper medical and emotional attention for their loved one. Although I think this sounds terrible and do not think I would personally ever find it to be the case, some families can not find the time to care for their loved ones because of the strains and pressures of raising and feeding a family and paying the bills. In these familial situations having to care and look after an ill loved one causes extra pressure and stress and may thus lead to negative results and conflict within the family. In these scenarios residential care facilities provide a helpful and resourceful option for families.

However, there are families that being together is the most important thing. In this case they would reek the benefits of the advantages of home care for their sick loved ones. For instance, when my great grandmother became ill, my grandmother opted to have her live with her and my grandpa and mom and uncle. My great grandmother lived with them for years and they had hired home care to come and help take care of her. My grandma also devoted a great deal of her time caring and providing the medical attention my great grandmother needed. In this situation home care proved to be extremely beneficial since it fulfilled what was important to my family, being together all the time.

Overall, I think home care is equally effective as residential care facilities but the option to chose one over the other is extremely situational, and is dependent on the families of the ill loved one and their morals, values, and situation.

The Social and Persuasive Effects of Crying

I just came across the article Why We Cry: The Truth About Tearing Up
The lowdown on tears: Why some cry easily, others don't cry, and how to handle all those tears, by Kathleen Doheny on WebMD. The article can be found at http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/why-we-cry-the-truth-about-tearing-up.

Interestingly, the article explores why people cry, who cries, the benefits of a good cry,coping with crying, trying not to cry, and the downside of not crying. Overall, crying seems to have a biochemical beneficial effect on humans by releasing stress hormones or toxins from the body while psychologically it allows one to acknowledge one's feelings. While the article discusses how it is good to cry when you can and harmful to suppress emotions the part of the article that really caught my attention was the section on who cries. Women are more often associated with crying and crying is more acceptable of women than of men in society. This is probably directly linked to the idea that women are more emotional, and therefore crying is more acceptable. Yet often crying is associated with vulnerability. Are women really more vulnerable then men? It is true that if you were walking down the street and saw a woman crying as she walked by, you probably wouldn't think twice about it, but instead just assume she was having a bad day. But yet, if you walked by a man crying, you would definitely notice it and probably be so surprised by it that you might say something to your friend. For instance, " That was so strange, I just walked by a man crying." Although it is true that women tend to be more open with their emotions, this does not mean that men do not have them too, they just feel some society pressure to suppress these feelings. However, according to Doheny, it would be better to express them.

Another interesting aspect the article brings up is crying to persuade an audience. The author says, "Lastly, crying has a purely social function, Bylsma says. It often wins support from those who watch you cry. Sometimes, crying may be manipulative -- a way to get what you want, whether you're asking a friend to go shopping with you, your spouse to agree to a luxurious vacation, or your child to get their math homework done." In these situations crying is effectively used as a persuasive element. Crying would contribute largely to the pathos of an argument and cause the audience to empathize with the speaker and want to help him or her. The audience then realizes they can help criers by doing what the crier is asking. Thus the crying is an emotional appeal that has a powerfully persuasive effect. Little children do this all the time, and I am sure adults employ this method occasionally as well. However, using it in an academic field might not be appropriate because of existing social values that do not allow emotion in the workplace, despite the fact that it is an entirely human phenomena.

Is exploration of a new continent really something of the past?

One of my friends is taking a history class on the Latin America. She was explaining some of the early explorations to me today. One in particular was a voyage by Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca. His ship crashed in what is present day Florida. Once he was shipwrecked he was forced to explore the continent and befriend the native Americans that occupied the land. This seems scary, to be on stranded on a foreign country, not knowing the language of the natives, unfamiliar with the culture, and unsure of how to get by. Vaca traveled across the country with the Native Americans and soon enough learned how to survive while exploring the vast continent. Every time I hear stories similar to this one I am amazed and extremely impressed that there were people brave enough to complete these expeditions. My friend and I marveled in the courage that it must have took. We determined that when one saw foreign foods the only to find out if they were eatable was to try them to determine thier effect. We said that we couldn't imagine this.

However, five minutes into our conversation, as we were thinking of all the challenges these voyagers would have had to overcome, we both paused and looked at each other, and realized that these do not sound very different from the experience we had this past summer, when we both lived in Madrid, Spain for a month. We then laughed, because we speak in such a glorified and amazed way about these past explorers but our experience was not remarkably different besides the fact that we knew that there was civilization in the continent we chose to voyage to, and we were able to fly. However, we still needed to adjust to a completely different culture and way of living, different time schedule, different people, different foods, and a different language. After a week or two we had adjusted quite nicely and were able to discern which foods we liked and which ones upset our stomachs, whether the water was alright to drink, were it was clean to buy food, and how to learn how to survive in the bustling Madrid city where everything was in Spanish. The experience was fun and exciting and we learned so much about the Spanish culture and way of life. Besides working and studying during the week, we were able to travel around Spain on the weekends, just like Vaca, learning so much with each footstep we took. Overall, the experience of traveling abroad is not that different from the early explorations. Are we not still exploring a new culture, people, and way of life, that we do not know anything about?

Reflection of my fellow Students blogs

I began the semester not really knowing what a blog was. Now after a few months of blogging and reading my peers blogs in my English 225 class, I have become more familiar with the idea and have really come to enjoy reading the other students blogs. A would like to bring attention to a few that I feel are particularly interesting to read because of the rhetorical techniques they employ.

The first is Amanda's blog, "Amanda's take on Argumentative Writing." I enjoy reading her blog for several reasons. For one her format is always organized which makes it easy to follow. She successfully divides up her arguments into short paragraphs which allow the reader to easily follow her thought process. She also writes in a way that you can hear her voice and understand her opinions and where she is coming from. With each entry she clearly makes her point and provides reasoning and evidence for it. One of her blogs, "Persuade. Yes We Can.", effectively argues for the persuasive elements in one of the campaign's for President Obama, she even inserts the link so everyone can watch and follow along with her blog, very effective. I also find that she effectively incorporates class material and theorists into general everyday ideas, which are both entertaining and insightful. For instance in "The Opposite Claim." Amanda disproves Foucault by discussing the unique history in Catalonia. I find her blogs to be worthwhile to read. Take a look: http://mblog.lib.umich.edu/~apdonnel/

Another blog that I enjoy reading is Heather's. The colors of Heather's blog alone draw the reader's attention. The vivid green is fun and makes you want to read her blog. Heather's blog's are also well organized into small paragraphs that are easy to read and easy to follow with her thought process. She effectively incorporates ideas discussed in class to everyday situations that she encounters when she is not in English class. These blogs show us how the knowledge we are gaining in class can be applied to our everyday lives, which is nice to see. For instance, Heather uses personal experience to write about conflicting identities in her blog "Conflicting Identities," "Identity of a Soldier," and "Connections." She also uses identity theories to explore Alzheimer's patients. These blogs are very interesting and worth reading as well. Her blog can be found at : http://hpat225.blogspot.com/.

Got Milk?

Since we are currently learning about persuasion in my English 225 class, we were assigned to look for a persuasive advertisement. Persuasion is commonly used in the media as a way to convince consumers to take action and buy products or think in specific ways. As I was thinking about advertisements I came across the very popular Got milk advertisements. Got milk? ads have been around since 1993 when fluid milk processors in California agreed to allocate 3 cents for every gallon of milk sold to fund efforts to promote milk consumption through advertising, marketing, and public relations. It has been running since October 1993 and the campaign has been credited with greatly increasing milk sales nationwide.

I think the whole concept behind the got milk campaign was to come up with a catchy phrase in the hopes of embedding this phrase in peoples minds causing them to want to buy milk. This is not specific to any brand or company, but rather milk in general, in order to increase the consumption of milk in the country, they do not care who's milk you buy. With this in mind the goal of these adds would be to make people think about milk and in thinking about milk people would then want to buy milk. They reach this goal by widely distributing the ads and by photographing celebrities with milk mustaches. These characteristics catch people's attention because people find celebrities to be attractive, they are often seen in character appropriate poses, and then they read the ads. Each add has a sentence of two that somehow connects the positive benefits of drinking milk with the person displayed in the picture. For instance, the ad with superman says," Super. That's how milk makes you feel. The calcium helps bone grow strong, so even if you are not from Krypton you can have bones of steel. Got milk?" The ads use catchy phrases such as these in order to describe the beneficial properties of milk which are biologically and nutritionally accurate and then uses them to explain the how awesome the celebrity photographed is. This seems a convincing way to convince someone to drink milk. If milk explains why a person is really good at something than why wouldn't you want to drink milk too? It doesn't even matter who's milk you drink, as long as you drink milk. Other adds focus on increasing awareness of milk’s use in losing weight and staying healthy. The campaign became immensely popular with consumers and “got milk?” became a phrase used in common conversation, proving its effectiveness. Although I would not say when I look at these ads I want to go buy milk, I would say that they are very entertaining and always catch my eye. They don't completely persuade the viewer to buy milk but they do effectively cause the viewer to look at the ads and then think about milk, which may subliminally cause them to buy milk at a later point.

Some fun Got milk ads are: http://www.spreadingjam.com/2009/08/the-case-of-the-missing-cows/, http://phoenix.fanster.com/2007/11/30/nash-has-got-milk/

The Got Milk? has an interesting website: http://www.gotmilk.com/

What were they thinking?

When we study leaders in the past who had gained massive followings and had absolute power we usually question how the people living under the regime really fell for the tactics of the leader and how they were brainwashed into following them blindly. It is a valid question, but rarely do we really stop and think what we would do if in the situation. Would we stop and question the strategies and arguments put forth by the leader? Would we try to evaluate why they were gaining so much power and popularity hypothesize about what their goals long term goals are. Would we even be able to hypothesize these goals? Before English class yesterday I had never really considered this concept. When discussing the Holocaust in many years of Hebrew School, I was always in shock that so many Jewish people stayed, and so many Jewish people did not escape when they had a chance. Now, after watching Triumph of the Will, produced by Leni Riefenstahl in 1934 under the funding/guidance of Adolf Hitler, I realize that they probably just didn't realize what was happening. Hitler based his party off the ideas of unifying Germany, taking care of Germans by providing them with food and jobs after post World War I depression, and reestablishing German traditional roots. These goals seem desirable to the people and the Jews did consider themselves German, so why would these claims sound bad to them? How would they have any idea that Hitler's definition of purifying the race meant that German Jews were not German. They couldn't. Because of how Hitlers slowly implemented is killing regimes by the time people began to figure out what was going on it was really difficult to leave.

The movie uses visual and verbal arguments in an attempt to persuade both German people and people around the world that Hitler and his National Party should be respected and listened to. The movie portrays Hitler's wide love and support and how wonderful Germany was under his National Party, with happiness, plenty of food, people supporting each other, advanced technology, and jobs for everyone. Obviously these things look extremely appealing, especially to a post war world where food was scarce and jobs were hard to find. Everything was filmed from the perspective that Hitler made Germany a wonderful place to be and everyone loved him for it. Of course it would though, he guided the producer, which probably means that she was coerced into making it look exactly as he wanted, perhaps with the alternative of death, considering the true Hitler that appears slightly later in history. It would be hard to see through this and see the terrors and horrifying things that Hitler would do 5 years later in 1939. He did not just fool countless German citizens but he fooled great politicians all over the world. Of course we see right through this propaganda now, now with the knowledge of what did happen we can pick up on hints leading to the occurrences. However, living in that time, I feel it would have been almost impossible to see through his lives and trickery. If I lived in Germany at the time and my family members had jobs and food, I would have been grateful and it would have been hard to leave. Even if one family member may have seen right through his political lies it would have been so hard to convince an entire family to leave their homeland at start over somewhere completely new and foreign, while at the same time it would have been hard to just leave by oneself and leave ones family behind. Overall, looking back you question how people could be so ignorant but if you place yourself in the economic situation of the time it is a lot easier to see how these people were thinking. The best ways to really avoid this from happening again are with education and knowledge of argument. If one understands argument, one knows not to blindly follow the masses but to critically explore the discussion and facts and then choose a side. However, when an argument is filled with pathos it is hard to see the argument clearly. It is hard to say what I would have done in the situation. How about you?

Unbelievable Reality of Children Understanding Death

As I was volunteering at the University of Michigan Hospital my supervisor was reporting to me some bad news. He was telling me about some of the little children who had recently passed away on the 7th floor Mott. These were children that I had previously sat with and played games with while volunteering. The news came as a shock to me, and made me think of so many things at once. Over the past few years volunteering on this floor I had never been told when patients passed away, either my supervisor decided not to tell me or the patients and doctors were having good luck. However, this time the reality of my entire experience volunteering finally hit me and put things into a new perspective. Never before did I consider that these children could pass away. I always enjoyed playing with them and trying to keep them optimistic that I seemed to have convinced myself that they would all get better, like I had been trying to convince them. The saddest part of this reality seems to be the fact that most of these people that are passing away are just children, some as young as 3 years old. This just made me question life, why do these poor innocent children have to experience pain and death so young, what does this accomplish. I started to get so frustrated with the idea that I decided to talk to my supervisor, the Activity Therapist of the floor.

He said that with all of his years working on the floor that was the one question that he has spent countless hours trying to figure out. He feels that when this situation arises it is because the children are sent to teach their parents a lesson. He further explained that in more than the majority of cases the families of these children are brought back together by their sick children. The families are reunited and retaught love. I thought this was a nice explanation and a good way to accept the situation. I then wondered if and how doctors tell these innocent children that they are going to die. How would they understand what it meant and why would they tell them. Well the Activity Therapist explained to me that most children just know. They don't say they know they are actually going to die, but rather they see their bodies as different from other children their age, and can feel when they are tired and certain parts of their bodies don't work. They understand in this way that their body is failing and not working. Sometimes doctors explain to them that they are going to be angels, and their parents ask their children to watch over them in heaven. This news seemed both remarkable and a huge shock to me all at once. I don't understand whether or not it is best to deliver such bad news to children and how children accept the news and then focus on bringing their family closer together before they pass away. The whole conversation and experience seems unbelievable and something that has been on my mind. How do you perceive this information?

Rollercoaster Relationships change how one sees oneself

I just had dinner with my roommate and we had an interesting conversation about relationships and identity, and I thought it would be interesting to further explore this topic. Having a relationship seems to impact one's identity more than most people would like to think. People like to say that they are the same person with or without their significant other, but, its just not true. For instance, my friend and I were discussing another friend of ours who recently began a relationship, and within one week her personality remarkably changed. She has become optimistic, enthusiastic, and happy from her normal pessimistic, cynical, and sad. This is of course a great improvement, but why did it take a guy to change her identity and how did he do it. This may be explained by using Cooley's looking glass self, or seeing yourself how you think other people see you. If this theory of identity is true it explains why she would be more confident. She sees that he is interested in her and thus may have begun to see herself more has the positive opinions that he tells her he thinks of her. Another possible explanation for this change in identity may come from Mead's interactional self. Her social self is changing based on the new social environment she is in, with her new boyfriend, and the judgments he makes of her. This change to her social self may not necessarily be a lasting change in identity though, it may just be a situational or temporal change.

The same situation applies in the opposite scenario. When a relationship ends, a person becomes very emotional and sad, even if they know for a fact the relationship would not have worked out in the end or could not have been saved. A possible explanation for this could be a feeling of the loss of losing a part of one's identity. After spending a lot of time with someone you begin to really care about them and sometimes even think like them. When this ends, one may feel as if a part of them is gone, which is probably the hardest feeling to get over. In this case, people are defining themselves based on their relationships, which can be good or bad and cycle like a rollercoaster. When their relationships are working they see themselves one way and when they are not they see themselves entirely differently. My friend that I was having this conversation with fully admits that her emotions are based on how things are going with her boyfriend. Although, I was really upset when my previous boyfriend and myself broke up, I find this idea to be sad. I feel a person's identity should not be based on another individual, but yet when you spend so much time with that person it is hard for them not to become a part of your identity. Perhaps we more frequently experience static shifts in our identity due to our relationships with those close to us.

Why help? Why now?

Identity in itself proves difficult to fully understand due to its complexity. Many theories suggest sociological, psychological, and interactional approaches in a futile attempt to reach a definition. In my attempt to try to understand these theories I desired to determine whether chronic disease impacts one’s identity, or how one views oneself. I initially understood that chronic disease probably affected an individual’s identity in some way, but not until after I did a fair amount of research did I discover this to be correct. Chronic illness does seem to affect an individual’s identity, but not necessarily in a negative way. Through my experiences as a researcher and student I have come to understand that the age of diagnosis may have causality with how identity is adaptable. Research indicates that diagnosis of a chronic disease before the critical age of 11 years old does not seem to change an individual’s identity, but after this point will cause identity to change. Identity then may become more or less adaptive. This change in identity seems dependent upon the individual’s social environment which has a significant effect on identity, because it causes an individual to see oneself differently based on the judgments of others. We call this impact that the actions of others have on one's perception of oneself as the "extended identity."

This knowledge is extremely important in our society today because chronic disease is becoming even more prevalent and more and more children are being diagnosed with chronic illness. If we can understand how this diagnosis effects their identity we can then in turn find ways to help them upon their diagnosis. If medical professionals understand the effects that diagnosis of a chronic disease has on individuals in each age group, they will better be able to care for them. The new understanding that they will gain may allow doctors to empathize with their patients and learn how to provide better care and treatment courses for them taking into account their individual identity states. If doctors understand that at certain ages identities change in different ways then they can more effectively come up with treatment plans and coping mechanisms that are age dependent. If medical professionals working with adolescents understand that getting diagnosed with a chronic illness can influence how patients construct their identities, then those professionals can more effectively help those patients cope and make sense of the ways in which their chronic disease influences their identity once diagnosed.

Halloween frees one from the self

Since lately I have been contemplating how identity applies to just about everything I see and encounter everyday, I started to think about how it applies to Halloween. Essentially, this "holiday," I am not sure if we call it this, allows people to dress up and assume an any identity other than their own for one day. Interestingly, you rarely see anyone just go as themselves. Most people embrace this day and buy or put together a "costume." This costume and behavior that they enact while wearing this costume seems to be their exaggerated view of the identity that the real person has. This may be easier seen with an example. For instance, a person who is kind, good natured, and a school teacher, may dress up as a Dracula or a doctor for Halloween and in doing so adjust not only the way they dress but the way they act for that day and conform with the generalized societal view of how Dracula or a doctor acts, when in reality these both may be very unique depending on the person who has the role in real life.

OK, well what does this mean? To be honest, I do not know the answer, but Halloween always makes me wonder, especially now, why people love the idea of dressing up and being someone else for a day. I even love this, but I can not figure out why. It is not that I do not like who I think I am, and I am guessing this is not the reason for the popularity of the day. Maybe the appeal is that you have to be you every other day of the year, so for this one day it is fun to be someone else for a change. But then I wonder if your true identity determines what identity you will most likely pretend to be for the day. Using the profession one has as the definition for an identity, are doctors more likely to pretend to be angels or devils and are construction workers more likely to pretend to be baseball players. If this is the case then perhaps you can't escape your identity even when you try. Also, I wonder if it is even fair to pretend to be an identity that you really know nothing about. If we know nothing about this identity then how is it possible for us to pretend to be it, and are our portrayed misconceptions offending people? I know I am probably looking way to deeply into just a fun day of free candy and dressing up, but what do you think?

Analyzing the Audience

Although I am not yet sure exactly what my thesis for my English 225 convincing paper will be yet, our textbook, Aims of Argument suggests analyzing the intended audience prior to deciding on a thesis. The audience is a significant factor in the rhetorical context of a paper, and it is quite possible for an argument to be decided as successful or a failure primarily based on who the audience is. In order to make an argument an author needs to know to whom they are speaking and how the audience currently stands on the issue to be discussed. The authors of the textbook suggest that the best way to convince is to present one's position while creating as little resistance in the readers as possible.

My inquiry paper searched the effect having a chronic illness has on one's perception of their identity. In my exploration I found that identity was affected but not necessarily in a negative way. There also seemed an age at which identity prior to be diagnosed at this age proved no significant change in identity, but diagnosis after this age proved a significant change in identity in most cases depending upon the individuals social self and social environment. While still unsure what exactly I wish to convince my audience, it may help to determine who will be reading a paper about such issues. I think that medical professionals, parents, individuals with chronic disease, organizations that support chronic disease patients, and the academic society are the people who need to hear my argument. It is hard to answer exactly what the values are of these groups of people and what common ground we have that can be used as the basis for any argument I wish to pursue. It seems that obviously all of them understand what chronic disease is and the impact it has on people's lives, and see the significance in exploring this relationship. All of them understand the importance of the issue and probably would not be resistant to discussing it. If I started my argument discussing something that we all believe in I might be more apt to draw their attention and then lead into the topic I will try to convince them of. Lets say I decide to try to convince them of the idea that there is a critical age at which an individual's identity will or will not change depending upon if diagnosed before or after this age. I could begin explaining the importance of studying the effects that chronic disease has on these patients, which my audience sympathizes with and then I could explain the importance of better understanding how and when the diagnosis occurs impacts the identity. By understanding this medical professionals and parents might be able to provide better care or organizations may be able to devise more helpful programs for chronic illness patients. Then once I had their attention and our common ground was established I could try to convince them of a specific age. Although I am still undecided about my argument, I do see the importance of understanding who your audience is and where they are coming from.

Identity Conformity in Disney??

After reading Brett's comments on one of my previous blogs about the true and false self I was inspired to further think and write about possible answers to her questions. When considering the endless classics by Walt Disney, one can not help to notice the portrayal of very specific characters with individual identities that are used as role models for populations of children. How do these "role models" affect children today, do the movies and stories help or hurt the children on average? This seems a topic up for debate. On one hand the identities portrayed are all admirable in their own way; Cinderella is a hard worker, Milan is a brave warrior, Pocahontas a peacemaker, Belle a caring and devoted daughter, Snow White a loving and caring friend, and they all have a happily ever after ending. They are admirable characteristics and do all lead to a happy ending, so what child would not want to strive to be like them? Well on the other hand these are specific identities thought by society to be desirable, but are they subliminally promoting conformity? It is possible. It seems children should be encouraged to find themselves and develop their own personalities based on their environments and experiences growing up. Would this not create a more unique and diverse society, rather than one full of conformers.

Also, in addition to this point, in Aladdin, Aladdin tries to steal princess Jasmine's heart and in doing so pretends to be people he is not in order to win her heart. At one point in the movie he pretends to be a prince, and the Jeannie tells him just to be himself, that he would have better luck. We see Aladdin using multiple theories of the social self. He uses Mead's interactional self by pretending to act a certain way that he thinks Princess Jasmine wants. We also see Reisman's conforming self, because he tries to conform with the identity of what was considered worthy of a princess to marry. A question may arise when we consider Hochschild's emotional self. Is Aladdin portraying a false self or is he just trying to act a certain way in a very specific situation in order to achieve a goal? Does this constitute as a false self and give him reason to then judge himself as acting wrongly? Perhaps his true emotional self is so drawn to princess Jasmine that he will undoubtedly do anything to get her attention, which would imply that his true self was doing the action of portraying a false self. This seems a bit confusing but yet it seems very possible that a true self may have goals and desires that in order to devise ways to achieve these they must temporarily adapt false selves but solely for the purpose of satisfying the true self. So overall, Aladdin reveals that he is really a peasant essentially to Jasmine, and she does fall in love with him. The movie then does portray the importance of being yourself to children and how in the end it is the right way to behave. But yet, at the same time these false selves that Aladdin assumes seem just extensions of his true feelings for Jasmine, which do not change.

Overall it is important to be yourself which Disney supports, but what if they are providing the selves for you to conform to?

Resume Builders: Why?

Something that has always puzzled me is the idea of students participating in extracurricular activities for the sole purpose of writing them on their resume in order to impress an admissions board of their choice. This idea has always bothered me, so I figured why not write about it in an attempt to question why this is the case. When I was in High School I had this one "friend" who said she was a member of all these great clubs, but with further investigation I realized that she never participated in any of the events for these clubs but rather used them to put on her resume in order to get into NYU. I thought this seemed a bit ridiculous but didn't think much of it because well I was just in High School.

However, when I came to the University of Michigan I realized that so many more people do that here. I could not believe it. I honestly thought that people chose to participate in activities that really interested them solely of the purpose of expanding their interest. When you think about the steep competition to get into graduate school it is understandable that students want to stand out and impress admissions boards. But yet, at the same time wouldn't it be better if someone participated in a club that honestly meant something to them and was extremely active in this club, rather than spreading themselves so thin that the people in the organizations do not even know who they are. I would hope that an admissions board would be more impressed if a student pursued what really interested them for their own individual sake.

For instance, I am almost fell into this loop hole upon entering this university. When I arrived and said that I wanted to be a doctor, I was advised to get involved in as many things possible in order to "boost" my resume. I immediately joined the pre-med club, because of course I thought that was what I was "supposed" to do if I wanted to go to medical school. However it was not very long before I realized that no one in the club knew me and I was not contributing anything of worth but sacrificing an hour I could be studying to listen to people tell me about what I should be doing to get into medical school. I decided that I wanted to be my own person, and that in the end hopefully a medical school will accept me as me, not a compilation of Hochschild's "false selves" created in an attempt to be the "perfect medical school applicant." Well actually what everyone perceives the medical schools think is the perfect applicant, because honestly how can anyone know for sure. This is actually an example of Mead's interaction self, because people try to act how they think other people want them to. Well in that respect I felt that a medical school would want me to be me, an individual pursuing her own interests and with the goal of wanting to help and care for people.

Of course, I still participate in as much as I can, but my list is probably nothing in comparison to other "resume builders," who probably do not even know what is on their resume, in addition to the fact that I just don't sign up for things for the pure sake of saying I "do" something else. I aim to do things that really mean something to me. I wonder why should we all devote our undergraduate years to making ourselves who we think an admissions board wants us to be. It just seems more reasonable to be ourselves and do things that we would do if their were no graduate schools or jobs to apply to. These ideas of the social self are adding pressure to us to conform and adapt, when we shouldn't have to. Don't you think?

Diabetes Camp: A mold for identity

Today I interviewed a friend of mine, Danielle, for my inquiry paper. Danielle has type I Diabetes and has had it since she was six years old. After our interview the things she told me where playing over and over in my head. I was trying to think of a way to connect her pre and post diagnosis emotions and view of her identity to the research theories I had found, but could not help but to keep coming back to the role Diabetes Camp seems to have played in her view of her identity as a young child. Diabetes camp is a camp set up by different foundations, such as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, American Diabetic Association, and the National Kidney Foundation. I started to question the influence these programs can have on a child with Diabetes. These programs are set up with the intention of bringing children together who all have the same disease in an attempt to show them that they are not alone, and give them an opportunity to become friends with other children "like" them. While these programs are fantastic at educating children about their disease and showing them that their are many other people in the world that have the same condition that they do, the idea that these children are all "alike," is what makes me skeptical. I would have never even considered this if it weren't for all the research we are doing in class about identity and my individual research looking at the affect chronic illness has on the perception of the person with the illness' identity.

Although, yes these children all are around the same age and all do have type 1 diabetes but this idea that these children are "alike" seems to categorize their identities as being similar. In this case it seems to imply that their disease is who they are and what makes them similar, when it reality it is just a condition that they all must learn to live with, but by no means defines their personality or their identity. This just seems to place children in in a category or group that distinguishes them from other children who can get the wrong idea. As my other friend Jenna noted, her father was taught in the hospital to call her a person with Diabetes, not a Diabetic person. The same idea applies, people who have type 1 diabetes are still people and as such still have an identity separate from their disease. Their disease is not what makes them them. Danielle actually said that going into the camp at age 8 she checked her blood sugar about once or twice a day, but once at camp the counselors made them check their sugar 5 times a day and monitored what they ate and when. She felt uncomfortable and as if these people were forcing her to revolve her whole life around her condition and made her feel sad. She felt that they placed her in a category with other children with diabetes and tried to instill being diabetic as a primary categorization, when she wanted to be her own person.

At the same time though, Jenna, who went to Diabetes camp at a much older age of 16, saw it as a fun opportunity to make friends with people who all had the same condition as her. She did not see this as a defining aspect of their identities but rather just a fun and social way to meet people who had to do the same daily tasks, such as checking blood sugar that she did. In light of this fact, I wonder if the age of diagnosis may play a role in whether or not one percepts the disease to change one's identity. For Jenna who was diagnosed at 12 she had already defined most of her identity, and just saw this as a new condition she would have to live with. However, Danielle who was diagnosed at 6, thought that it was more a part of her identity but struggled to realize that it was not before she developed her own identity. In addition, though Danielle felt this way, she also said that she thought that since she developed the disease at such a young age she was able to develop with it and it just became a part of her early on. She said that she felt with a later diagnosis she would have already defined her identity and having to include this additional aspect would have been harder for her to handle. Overall, the role Diabetes camp plays on children with type 1 Diabetes may actually vary depending upon age. Younger children may perceive the camp in an attempt to define them as Diabetics while older more mature children already realize that they are individuals first and Diabetics second, and see the camp as a more fun and social way to meet people who live with a similar condition. The idea is questionable.

Does Chronic Disease effect identity?

With many discussions and readings on identity , our task is to create a question, an interest, a topic for discovery, for which we will write an inquiry paper on. Before about a week ago I had no idea what inquiry was, and how it related to argumentative writing. I like to believe that I understand it somewhat better now, after a few class discussions. Inquiry may be better summed up as the authors thought process. It provides a writer with the opportunity to explain why they want to research a certain topic and how they do so. It is essentially a process of exploration and questioning. The author finds sources that seem relevant to their overall interests and then must analyze them, determining what other people are saying about the topic of interest and how he himself feels about what these other authors are saying. The writer may agree or disagree with his sources but ultimately will link them all together in an effort to reach an overall claim, an overall analysis or attempt at understanding. The end of the paper may come as an epiphany but the opposite may also occur, and one may be left with confusion and many further questions.

With much brainstorming and limited sources at this moment, I find myself interested in how external forces, such as having a chronic disease, may contribute to one view of one's "self." I wonder if having a chronic disease changes how one views oneself. This may prove a difficulty topic to investigate, but perhaps I can search for case-studies or comparisons between patients views of themselves prior and after diagnosis if diagnosis occurred later in life, and then even compare the role disease plays on identity in patients who have always had the disease in comparison to someone who lived a greater portion of their life without it and had a later onset.

One of the reasons that I became interested in this topic is because my roommate has type I Diabetes. She was diagnosed when she was 12 and says that its impact on her life had in fact redefined her identity in respect to how she views the world. Frequently visiting hospitals growing up she said that she became grateful that she had a disease that is treatable, for she saw many people in her ER visits who were not as fortunate, those who were receiving cancer treatments and had been in car accidents. Each time she went she had the comfort of knowing that at least she knew she would be able to return to her family and friends. She also said that having the disease makes you realize your life might not be as long and makes you a more positive person, for you want to have a happy life and make every day count. Overall, she views events and situations with an entirely different perspective once she was diagnosed and now has a different view on the world. I would like to further explore this idea, and if anyone has any suggestions for me, I would love to hear them.

True vs. False Self

For English class we read "The Self We Live By," by James Holstein and Jaber Gubrium. The book offers many different views on what identity is and how the idea or concept of the "self" can be viewed. One theorist that particularly spoke to me was Hochschild's emotionally managed self which she discusses in her book The Managed Heart. The reason for this was not just because I feel my identity is deeply rooted in how I feel and my emotions but because she offered great insight into the idea of a "true" self and the ability of people to create "false" selves to meet situational demands. She wrote, "the 'true' self is often overrun by false selves that have been mobilized to help ward off the demands of the social." According to this theory it seems that the "self" is largely individual and defined by the emotions it feels, but at the same time can adapt or change in diverse situations in order to play many social roles. This deviation from the true individual is referred to as a false self, and depending upon the situational demands one true identity can have many false versions of the self.

This theory seems extremely valid in our society today. It does not seem like anyone maintains or portrays their individual roots all the time, but rather, one can frequently exhibit the change of "self" or people acting differently depending upon the circumstances. For example, if I looked at my own "self" introspectively I would not hesitate to agree with Hochschild. When I am alone, I am in touch with my feelings and have a very specific definition to who I think I am. But, no matter how frequently I tell myself to act the same in every situation, I find it impossible to do so. Over the years I have accumulated so many versions of my self or "false" selves that I sometimes get confused as to who I really am. I think the "false" self can relate to James interpretation of the self as changing yourself to fit what you think others want you to be. It is true that we create our false selves as people who feel they would better fit with the audience they want to be a part of. This is almost stereotyping in a sense, because we must interpret how the group we want to join or how the people we want to hang out with want us to act/be and we mold ourselves around this basis of nonfactual personal judgment.

Hochschild says that, "it is from feelings that we learn the self relevance of what we see, remember, or imagine." This is true for we internalize perceptions, actions and events, and memories all as how we felt when they occurred. I feel that the self is largely emotional and no action or thought can be devoid of emotions. This theory may apply when examining how extremely emotional events impact a person's concept of identity as well.

The basis of Arguement?

In English class today we tried to make sense of how and why we argue at all if there are so many ways of academic thinking. Although the discussion was very hard to follow it seems that since society or each thought group, does not acknowledge a single "Truth" it would be hard to argue with someone in a different group, for it might just cause confusion since terms would be defined differently. It is true if one considers argument on a deeper level. If two people believe different things and define their terms completely differently on what grounds can these two people argue? It seems that it is fairly important to understand or develop a basis for argument before one pursues it. If two people decide on a common ground then they could logically argue a claim.

This leads to the importance of understanding what you will talk about prior to attempting it. In argumentative writing it is important to read about the topic you will argue about prior to actually arguing. This is important because one must be knowledgeable about a topic so as not to be immediately rejected and disagreed with by their audience. They want to approach the argument with at least a sound basic knowledge so that what they will argue/say is somewhat credible. In the attempt to somewhat gain credibility by gaining information, it is also an avenue to question standing arguments and opinions in the search of a truth, or your version of one. This still seems far outside of the box, but I am working on understanding it and learning how to inquire.

The Toulmin Method: Medical students reckless on Internet, sometimes at patients' expense

For my first attempt at the Toulmin method of analyzing arguments I have chosen to write about, "Medical students reckless on Internet, sometimes at patients' expense." This article is written on CNN.com by Denise Mann, a freelance health writer in New York City. The article does not appear to be biased, but rather argues in favor of medical schools taking action against their students unprofessional behavior on the internet. The author claims that there are rising incidents of unprotected patient privacy and that institutions need to adapt and enforce policies about the internet. Her claim is absolute. There are no qualifiers of any sort, the action needs to take place or patients are put at risk, no exceptions. In the authors opinion, it is just a matter of fact.

The author' first reason is that a survey indicates that the rise of blogging and sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are opportunities in which medical school students could easily post content that would violate patients privacy. This reason seems relevant to the authors claim because it is true, these internet sites are frequently used by medical students as places to talk about their experiences and communicate with friends. In the process it is very likely for them to accidentally violate a patients privacy, and would be a good reason for the increased incidences of unprotected patients privacy. The evidence in support of this reason is a statistical figure that 60 percent of medical schools have indeed had students post inappropriate things on the web, mostly in regard to the students inapporpriate behaviors.

The author's next reason in support of her claim is that 13 percent of medical schools in just the past year alone have reported incidents of patient privacy violations. This is exactly why she claims that something must be done to stop this. Her evidence is that students blogged with enough detail to identify patients and in some cases were discovered and called out by the families of the patients themselves, placing the school and medical students responsible at fault.

Her next reason supports the second half of her claim, that not only are incidents violating patient privacy increasing, but that something needs to be done about it. She states that less than half of the current schools have any sort of policy in place to enforce means to stop this type of behavior from continuing. This reason is relevant because it shows that there is room for improvement and implementations should be created to in every school. Her evidence in support of this reason comes from an anonymous survey sent to the 130 AAMC Medical Schools. 78 percent of the schools reported having an incident and of those 30 gave informal warnings and three students were expelled. This evidence proves that while some schools are taking action, others who are experiencing problems are not.

Mann's next reason is that although other professions are experiencing similar issues with the online behavior of their students, it is especially important for policies to be enacted for medical school students because of the exemplary role they play in society and their high moral standard, but most importantly because of the patient privacy that they must maintain. This is a relevant reason to the authors claim, because the issue to enforce policies protecting patients from the misuse of the internet by medical school students would not be a question of concern if this were not the case. She provides several quotations from important doctors as evidence for this reason. Arthur Caplan, director of UPENN center of bioethics thinks students need to be educated and violates should be punished, he does not think the behavior should be tolerated and strict policies should be implemented to enforce restriction of inappropriate online behavior. Dr. Jordan Cohen, a professor of medicine at George Washington, and former president of AAMC believes action should be taken as well. These two authoritative people, holding very important roles in the medical community, provide ample validation to the authors claim.

Overall, this seems to be a strong argument. I feel the author makes a legitimate point, that institutions need to adapt and enforce policies in response to the rising incidence of violations of patient privacy by medical school students. She has strong reasons and evidence which validate her claim but perhaps she could propose some methods that schools could employ to help the situation. I feel that this issue is extremely important for patients put their full trust in doctors hands and do not distinguish between a medical student and a board certified doctor. They look for help from whoever is assigned to provide help to them and therefore should not be cheated out of the patient-physician privacy "contract." I agree with the authors claim and feel methods should be determined to punish those who foolishly broadcast patient information on the web. If strict policies are enforced students will not misbehave because their life's work toward their MD would be on the line.

The Social Self in the Swimming World

After English class last Wednesday, I could not stop thinking about the plethora of ways to analyze the social self. Each different psychologists approach that we examined seemed somewhat unique and seemed to require further exploration. The more I thought about them I feel I can almost draw a causation from how one perceives their "social self," to one's behavior. Throughout high school I swam for a USA swim team. My experiences with these different interpretations of the social self seem to offer an explanation of some of the team members behaviors which previously seemed hard to figure out.

First off, I used to find myself wondering as to why and how "clicks" were formed on the swim team. We were all swimmers and shared this common identity, why didn't we all hang out together? Well it seems, according to William James' empirical self, people may characterize themselves in many ways and may even change how they view themselves depending upon the people they are interacting with. In this case they may have as many descriptions as "self," as people have of them. This makes my original question more clear, for now it may seem that the really fast swimmers stuck close together, because each perceived the other as one who excels in the art of swimming and has speed. In our simple worlds in high school, where swimming seemed the most important aspect in life, it would make sense that they were friends. They liked the social self that each of them had for each other, it made them feel good, and this confidence that they shared with each other made them even faster.

My social self as a beginner may be better described by Cooley's interpretation of the social self. Everything about the self has to be felt first and then thought. For instance, I started the team at the age of 13, which is considered very late in swimmer world. I seemed to have immediately perceived the others swimmers interactions with me to be one of condescension. I started to feel that I was not as fast and would never be as fast as the other girls. This is how I felt, and no matter what anyone could say to discount this, my self reflection would not change and thus my social self was set.

Later in my swimming career I realized I might act in a particular way to a specific person so that they would see me how I wanted them to see me, thus either constantly changing my social self or just creating many. According to Mead, the social self is entirely based on interaction. The catch to this approach is that the person doing the action is making an assumption about how the other person wants them to act and how they are perceiving them to act. When I was with my friends in the locker room we all complained about how hard practices were and all of these excuses we would come up with to give the coach in order to find reasons to leave practice early. We each acted this way because we thought that is what the other person wanted us to say, when in actuality if you watched us in the water, no one complained and no one left early. When I was around my coach I would talk to him about my artwork and classes in school. This was because I wanted him to perceive me as a well rounded student and not just a swimmer, since I was one of the worst on the team, well at least perceived myself to be. I assumed by telling him about the galleries he could see my work in he would then see me how I wanted my "self" to be defined.

By applying these "social self," theories to situations in which behavior does not seem justifiable allows them to be seen more clearly. Can they help you define why someone acts the way they do?

Artist or Academic?

When considering identity, one might think of themselves as athlete, artist, female, or student. However, one's true identity is really a fusion of multiple identities. For one can be both sister and doctor, lover and fighter, healer and protector. At times one may find that that one of your identities is in conflict with another. Throughout my pre- University of Michigan years I felt defined by my abilities to express what I saw in the world through artistic means. If there were majors in High School, the fine arts probably would have been mine. I felt my artistic abilities shaped me and would always be who I was. However, at the same time, I also excelled in my none art classes and considered myself a good student. Often times in high school people are stereotyped into very specific groups, and I found myself in two. Artist and academic. I never put much thought into the matter, for I always believed that no one had a single identity, and I never came across a conflict of interest. That is until I entered the University of Michigan.

Arriving in Ann Arbor, 600 miles from my New York home, I felt everything would be the same as it always was in the past, and I could continue to excel in multiple areas. I do not think that this idea was necessarily naive, but perhaps it was warranted that this should not be the case. I entered college with the notion that I might consider the pre-medical path but also considered art history. First semester I tried my hand at balancing both by taking general chemistry with labs in addition to an Italian renaissance art history class. My head was swimming with images of Agony in the Garden by Bellini, the Birth of Venus by Botticelli, and the doors of the Duomo in Florence by Ghiberti. At the same time NaCl was an ionic compound with a high boiling point and a crystal lattice structure and diethyl ether would dissolve in the organic layer of an extraction because "like dissolves like." I knew this could not last long. When second semester rolled around and my adviser told me all the the necessary pre-requisite classes that were needed in order to just be considered at a medical school for admissions, my mouth dropped. That was the end. It was almost as my liver turned toward my kidney and kicked it out. There was no alternative, if I wanted to pursue a career in medicine I would have to sacrifice an identity, I had to kill a part of me. This was more than just a conflict of identities.

I made the sacrifice. Well at least I thought I did. I filled my schedule with science classes and extracurricular activities that were aimed at impressing a medical school admissions committee. When I traveled to the Dominican Republic with a team of students with the hope of providing medical relief to as many as possible, I could not help but take photographs in my mind and think of how great I could develop them in the dark room, or how I could portray the familial love but destitution of material well-being. But, I was there for a medical purpose and there was no time for much else, so I quickly re-focused. In some ways I feel the artist is still a part of my identity but the overwhelming science information I have acquired over the past 3 years is clouding any remnant of my creative expression.

This must seem familiar to you. Is there a time in your life where two of your defining identities conflicted, where you might have even had to choose one over the other. It is possible that the way in which you interpret my conflict is actually based on your own identities, experiences, and what you sympathize with. This is what I choose to question. How is it that you are receiving my conflict of identity?

Who am I?

Since I was a little girl, my father told me that nothing could ever stand in my way from achieving my goals. Whether it was attaining a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, competing in USA Sectional swim meets, having my artwork chosen for local galleries, or traveling around the world providing medical relief; I have always persevered to accomplish my goals, no matter what the discipline or difficulty. If someone just met me, my most defining characteristics would be my determination and willingness to put my whole heart into everything that I do. I have an insatiable desire to learn and then apply what I learn. I try to see the positive in every situation. However, someone who knew me well would describe me as having a pure heart, patience, a good listener, and extremely caring and thoughtful of others. These qualities can be seen in everything I do and seem to have led me to the experiences I have had.

Being of Cuban descent I feel a strong connection to the Latin American community and have sought experiences that combine my desire to pursue a career in medicine with my ongoing commitment to helping the Spanish Speaking people around the world. I joined International Service Learning and traveled to the rural towns in the Dominican Republic. There we set up clinics for the people in the towns to come to for physical exams and medication. I then interned in Arco Iris Neurological Rehabilitation Center in Madrid, Spain. Expecting a similar culture to that of the Dominican Republic, I realized remarkable differences. Through my experiences I have managed to gain multiple angles on the role medicine plays in Spanish-speaking countries as well as learn their cultures, language, and ways of life. The experiences were life altering, and opened my eyes to a world I had not previously known.

Working as a Mental Health Associate at Stony Lodge Psychiatric Children's Hospital, I became the patients' first line of care. Being able to read the patients charts, learning their histories and then interacting with them on a daily basis and understanding the person behind the disease, gave me a new perspective on life and medicine. Sitting with a patient for 9 hours straight, never leaving her side, in order to convince her that life was worth living; administering therapy to eight year olds, developing constructive ways to turn their lives around; and trying to get through to 7 gang affiliated teenage male patients by myself; I realized I have a genuine care and dedication. Through observation and interaction, my perspectives on other matters have greatly changed and my outlook on life has been re-constructed.

While my personal attributes led me to my experiences, my experiences have led me to my professional choice, all of which are fused together to emblem my identity. Or rather, what I believe my identity as a person to be, how I can put it in words at least. However, this may not be enough; the question on identity in itself deserves exploration and an understanding on a deeper level, a topic I will be exploring through this blog.

Although, I am writing this blog for my English 225 class at the University of Michigan,I offer it as an opportunity to read about issues from my standpoint. A standpoint that has been molded from the experiences I have had the last few years, that I feel have deeply defined my identity. I aim to work on my argumentative and persuasive skills which I would love to improve upon, and any feedback or pointers would be greatly appreciated. If you too enjoy learning about different ways that people can view the same thing, you might enjoy reading my blog and sharing your viewpoints in which case we can learn from each other.