No one ever told me family could be deceiving and ruin your outlook on life, I had to learn that on my own. Growing up as a young black lady, my perspective on life was always pretty straightforward: treat people how you want to be treated, always have God in your heart, and know that there is so much I could achieve. Those cornerstones got me through most of my life. I had always been a charismatic, bubbly, lovable spirit. I was always the favorite child, family members adored me and saw me as ¨the one who is going to make it”.…
My family wasn’t around a lot when I was younger. My mom and dad both worked full time jobs, and the age gap between my sisters and I made it hard for us to enjoy spending time together. I’ve always felt that the big age gap between me and everyone in my family always affected our closeness. They all seemed so grown up, understanding things that I had yet to grasp, and doing things that I wasn't able to do. I longed to be able to be as grown up as the rest of my family.…
“High expectations are the key to everything.” This quote by Sam Walton, who claims how these expectations tend to inspire and courage us to achieve higher in life and nobody else can prevent from doing it if we have desire to do it. Every parent has had expectations and goals for their children’s that play a huge role in their life in shaping a better opportunities and future. In the novel, Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet by Jamie Ford, he describes how Henry’s father have a lot of expectations for his son, how he wants him to go to all-white school as a scholar student, become like an American person. These expectations created a lot of conflicts with their relationship with each other, sometimes high expectations from parents can…
We all know that it is important to "fit in", but at what cost. Richard Rodriguez say's "The voices of my parents and sister and brother. Their voices insisting: You belong here. We are family members. Related.…
“I’m on the right track, baby, I was born this way.” This is in the chorus of one of my favorite songs by Lady Gaga called “Born This Way.” It is a self-empowerment tune that tells the listeners to accept themselves for who they are. In my childhood, I was exposed to a novel that changed my life. The Misfits by James Howe, like the Lady Gaga song, conveys a message of self-acceptance.…
Throughout O’Connor’s story, the grandmother has a negative attitude towards men. This attitude would incline the reader to think that her opinion of The Misfit would also be negative; however upon meeting The Misfit, the grandmother wants to believe that he is a good man, despite everything he may have done. “Listen,” she said,”you shouldn’t call yourself The Misfit because I know you’re a good man at heart. I can just look at you and tell.” (257).…
George R.R. Martin once said, “Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” I was never asked who I wanted to be or if I wanted to be a different person; my identity was given to me.…
In a “Good Man is hard to Find” it starts off with the family going to take a trip to Florida. The grandmother in the story tries to convince her son Bailey, that he should go to Tennessee instead, due to there being a man named the misfit on the loose. He is said to kill and is located near Florida, But Bailey is unconvinced and wants to go anyway. In this story, we will focus on the grandmother and the misfit. The misfit is the main character, but we will focus on the two and answer how they differ from each other and conclude on what makes them the person they portray to be.…
A lot of people think just because you’re an identical twin, that you must be the same in every aspect of your life as the other person. In my case, and in others, being an identical twin doesn’t prove that we are the same in all areas of life. I have an identical twin sister, named Emily. Emily is pessimistic, high maintenance and very well organized. I, on the other hand, am more optimistic, open-minded and easygoing.…
Family is the most complex thing in the world. The mere definition of family is different for all people. For some, it is flesh and blood. For others, it’s those who they feel at home with. Every family has different issues, but some are easier to deal with than others.…
We are social creatures and we influence and are influenced by the social world (Social Forces, n.d.). Family is one of the ten social institutions and they affect my core values, beliefs, social class and norms of life (Social Forces, n.d.). I live in a very nice house with a complete family who encourage me to be what I want and support me in my life decisions. My family has given me so many opportunities that many families can’t afford to give their children and I feel very privileged. We live in a beautiful neighborhood in a small town and I attend the public school with my siblings.…
It is often said that teenagers begin discovering themselves in high school, but I did the opposite- I lost myself. The source of my pleasure and delight shifted from books to parties, writing to boys, and video-games to my social life. Something within me desperately craved to be normal- to no longer be the girl that gets harassed and ostracized for being an “appalling nerd” and because of this, vital aspects of my personality began to change and I morphed into an entirely different person. Through this journey, I learned that my self-hate was a catalyst for self-love and appreciation. Having always been considered an unusual girl in the eyes of my peers, I'd never been truly comfortable in my skin.…
To be part of a particular group, one must be credible, possess factual knowledge, and draw on the values of its member to be accepted into the group. I am sure everyone has his or her own group of friends; a group that shares the same common interest or communicates, and behaves the same way. A discourse community is a group of people who share a set of discourses, a particular interest, understand the basic values and assumptions, and the ways of communicating about those goals in their community. People who used specialist languages within their area of expertise include teachers, doctors, and scientists, and students who are involved in multiple groups of organization in school are some examples of discourse communities. I personally belong…
People do not only wear masks on Halloween. However, it is still worn for the same reason- to conceal an identity. In “We Wear the Mask”, Paul Laurence Dunbar poetically tries to reveal that everyone has a mask to hide a face they do not want to reveal. Whether it be your inner thoughts, lies, or tears, we all want to hide something, even if it means to put on a mask that is not our true selves. I am no exception.…
Society attacks both the Misfit in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, by Flannery O’Connor, and Ysrael, in Junot Díaz’s short story, “Ysrael”. Both of the characters have been targeted all their lives and cast off from society. The Misfit, a murderer, has escaped from prison and is being tracked down by officials, and Ysrael, a boy who hides from everyone, is bullied because of his deformed face. While the Misfit carries out violence upon others, Ysrael receives extreme hatred from the children in his community. Only one character is a criminal, but both are victims of society.…