Be Myself By Phillip Thomas Duck

In the book Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, Susanna Kaysen was only 18 years old when she agreed to enter a medium security psychiatric facility in Boston, McLean hospital in April 1967, after a failed suicide attempt. She insisted that her over dose on aspirin was not a suicide attempt, but after a 20 minute interview the doctor decided she needed to be admitted to a hospital. During her prolonged two-year stay at the hospital Kaysen describes the issues that most of the patients in her ward have to deal with and how they all differently deal with the amount of time they must stay in the hospital for. While in the hospital Kaysen experienced a case of depersonalization where she tried to pull the skin of her hands to see if there were bones underneath, after a failed escape attempt. Soon, after going to therapy and analysis she was labeled as having recovered from borderline personality disorder. After her release she realizes that McLean Hospital provided patients with more freedom than the outside world, by being free responsibility of parental pressure, free from school and job responsibilities, and being free from the “social norms” that society comes up with. Ultimately, being in captivity gave the patients more freedom then in society and created a safe environment in which patients wanted to stay in.

protagonists and antagonists, the plot structure and events of the story and the way he

In the student essay “It’s Hard Enough Being Me” written by Anna Lisa Raya, the author portrays herself as a credible source for understanding the role of identity in an educational setting. Raya then appeals to an audience of Latinos and other minorities through her emotions such as stating, “I had never questioned who I was or where I was from” (Raya 121). In the end, she resolves the life-longing issues of identity crisis and cultural shock by staying true to herself and “Soy yo and no one else…Punto” (Raya 122). The author asserts the idea of “not only experienced culture shock, but for the first time I had to define myself according to the broad term “Latina”” (Raya 121) throughout the essay. Raya then appeals to her audience through

Technology, the advancement of knowledge and productivity through the application of tools, information, and techniques to create an effortless process, has ultimately lead to the declination of our society and our future. In “A Thing Like Me,” Nicholas Carr addresses the development of technology from the day it was created and how it initiated an immediate impact within the lives of humans leading to an unhealthy dependency. Carr establishes how technology, what was intended to be a tool, has become the “pacifier” of our generation. This “pacifier” causes a loss of freedom, not through the laws of the government, but rather with the values of freedom one holds within themselves. This freedom is the individuality that distinguishes each person from the next, and forms a desire for the development of oneself through the experiences of life and the wisdom that is acquired along the way. Technology has blinded man from this pursuit of self-enhancement and with the advancement of technology occurring daily, there is no resolution. Each day people are confined within themselves and the pieces of technology that will continually limit them in their lives. Freedom is more than just a concept of laws instilled by the government, it is the thought process found within each individual person and their “hunger” to become more. With technology, social media was created and immediately immersed within our lives. The society of today has

The election of Barack Obama as the 56th president of the United States raised many hopes that the “Black struggles” was finally over. For conservatives, Obama victory reassured their beliefs that there was no longer such thing as racism and that every American had equal rights and opportunity to pursue the American dream. While many people have come to believe that all races have equal rights in America, Tim Wise argues in his documentary “White Like Me” that not only does racism and unconscious racial bias still exist, but that also White Americans are unable to simply relate to the variety of forms racism and inequality Blacks experience. This is mainly because of the privileges they get as the “default.” While Wise explores the variety forms of racism and inequality today such as unconscious racism, Black poverty, unemployment, inadequate education system, and prison system, the articles by the New York Times Editorial Board, the Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Adam Liptak further explore some the disparities in the criminal justice system. Ana Swanson points out in her article, “The Stubborn Persistence of Black-White Inequality, 50 Years after Selma” that while the “U.S. has made big strides towards equal rights,” significant gaps still remains between the two races. With the Supreme Court striking down a “portion of the Voting Rights Act that stopped discriminatory voting laws from going into effect in areas of the country with histories of disenfranchisement,” civil

Adults students are returning to school in record numbers to complete educational studies. These students come from different backgrounds and represent various ages, ethnicities, economics, weaknesses, and strengths. Many adult students are here for the second time after failing initially and have fears about their abilities to complete their studies. Although most students have used on-campus resources, some may need assistance from other adult students successful in completing their coursework. David Sedaris in “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” helps these students by sharing four steps used to complete the French course. The author states that the students much be willing to look at self, participate actively in studies, engage socially

In Betsy Erkkila analysis I agree with her whole analysis. Throughout her analysis she talked about how Walt Whitman wrote about being an individual. Erkkila describes in Whitman’s poem, One’s Self I Sing, Whitman’s talks about a separate person being part of a whole group. He also sees it as a Democratic, representing the mass of people. Whitman also talks about in his poem about the balance to be a struggle. Erkkila says “Balanced between the separate person and the en masse”. When she talks about “the separate person’ she is talking about how Whitman talks about how he sees himself as a separate person. She also says “the en masse”, she is talking about a group as a whole. She is talking about Whitman again in this situation. Whitman talks

T.C. Boyle’s short story “The Love of My Life” demonstrates a classic story of high school sweethearts, China and Jeremy, madly in love and starting the next chapter of their lives together after graduation. However, as their relationship continues, adversity strikes. They attend separate schools, begin to meet less often, and even unexpectedly get pregnant. All in all, Boyle’s story demonstrates how adversity changes attitudes towards relationships.

Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore was a very easy read. In this short story there are many controversial topics that are touched on. Although it was an easy read, I thought it was very intellectually stimulating. This book made me question my faith and my actions, which then ultimately lead to improvements and understandings in my own life. I do not think the formatting was done all that well, but somehow the two separate authors seemed to complement each other in alternating chapters. This book made me feel good and had lots of meaningful moments. I even teared up a little when certain events happened (not a spoiler). This book also makes apparent some issues that many people do not even realize. It has a very good

Prompt 1: On page 19 in the book, Paul Kalanithi tells us about his uncle asking about his future: “My uncle, a doctor, like many of my relatives, had asked me earlier that day what I planned on doing for a career, now that I was heading off to college, and the question barely registered.” I can really connect to this part in the book, because nearing the end of my senior year had no clue what I wanted to study in college. I was always more focused on the sports aspect of it all, then school and trying to get a scholarship first, and then I would figure it out later. I was always told what degree to pursue by friends, family, and people I just meet. They would always tell me to just get a business degree, it’s a safe job and you can get almost

Gwendolyn Brooks wrote the poem “We Real Cool” in 1959 and was published in1960, right in the middle of the civil rights movement and only a couple years after the Brown v. Board of Education trial, which challenged racial segregation in schools. In the poem, a group of kid’s drops out of school allowing them to have a lot of free time on their hands which often leads to criminal activities. Many have interpreted this poem in different ways. One possible interpretation that I feel strong about is how African American’s struggled with segregation, making it almost impossible for them to receive a decent education resulting in future filled with struggles to make ends meet, ultimately leading them to give up and drop out of school. It may be

The song “Make a Man Out of You,” describes how a man should perform, look, and sets a standard that a man should strive to achieve illustrating how male norms are more physical. The men in the group, under the command of Captain Li Shang, are not up to the standards and qualities Li Shang wants in a soldier. Some of the standards and qualities that fit the ideal man and soldier include being strong and quick, catching or gathering their own food, swift reflexes, proficient in hand-to-hand combat, and efficient use of weapons. The expectations for men are more physical and are less specific in comparison to the expectations for women. The duties of a man involving their physicality are important so that he can supply the family with gains through

“I see it as my task to sensitize the general public to the sufferings of early childhood,” Alice Miller (1983) wrote in her book, For Your Own Good, ( p. xv). This one sentence accurately describes Miller’s life’s work. Alice Miller had unparalleled compassion for children and absolutely no tolerance for their maltreatment. She wrote many books and articles on the subject of child rearing and its impact on society. Miller is also known for her outspoken views on religion and its impact on children’s psyches. She used the term “Poisonous pedagogy” in many of her writings to refer to the toxic forms of child rearing that have been employed as far back as can be remembered.

“The more time you spend trying to find yourself in the world, you’re just losing yourself” Stephanie Pellegrin. Just like the author of “Be Yourself”, trying to fit in is what others try to do, finding friends while feeling safe with peers is what others try to find. Others found their rightful place of safety with others finding it hard to fit in with the others being “unique” to find peers with the same hobbies and interest. The following quote expresses how being yourself can express your ideas without having to hide being a shell of insecurity about how others think. Stephanie expresses her ideas to the reader to just be yourself and forget about the opinion of others that would have an impact on their trail of thought in a negative way. In my opinion, life can surely be hard while also being questionable at times, but sometimes you just have to strive through to find the meaning of life.

Men and woman have always been look at differently. There are many differences between the two genders and some might even argue that a man and a woman is opposite of each other and not just different from one another. The song "I'm an ordinary man" composed by Frederic Loewe focuses on the binary opposition between men and women this is seen through metaphors, hyperboles, and melody.