Table of Contents

Table of Contents My Reflection Introduction to Critical Thinking Piece Crossing Boundaries Introduction to Revision Piece Outsiders Introduction to Awareness of Audience and Voice Piece Stay Home Moms are a Community Introduction to Writer's Choice Piece Family Dinners-The Loss of a Family Tradition

My Reflection

I started my life out in the small town of Maytown, Pennsylvania. To make a long story short, I joined the Navy when I was twenty-one, ended up in beautiful San Diego for eight years, met my husband, got married and moved here to his home state. Do not ask me why I left constant sunshine for constant rain, because I’m still asking myself that question. I currently stay home with my children and have been attending Everett Community College for the past three years. I have been taking one class at a time attempting to finish up my prerequisites for the nursing program. I’m hoping to start the nursing program close to the time my youngest is ready for school. Amazingly, time has flown by and this summer I will take my last class, a math class, in preparation for the nursing program. Now most people take their English classes’ first then work on the classes meant for their degree, but not me. I dread English and quite honestly was praying that a miracle would happen and the school would change its requirements, no longer making a person complete college writing for a degree. I know it sounds crazy, but a person can dream! Through self diagnosis, when it comes to writing papers I have a serious learning disability. Learning over eighty muscles and their functions in less than two weeks in Anatomy, was a piece of cake. Writing a three to four page essay brings me more stress than my four year old throwing a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store (not that he does that). When I think back over this quarter, I wonder if I have grown or improved. It’s hard to say, maybe a little. I’m still stubborn and do not enjoy writing, but I find my self stressing out less.

The themes that were used in this class, identity, community and tradition, helped make the quarter a little more enjoyable. Before this class I would have not thought about how culture affects each one of these themes. I have always thought of identity as something we create for ourselves with some influence from our parents. Now I see that culture has a large influence on the identity we develop. I still believe that personal choices are the largest part of who we are, but I know my identity would be quite different if I were to have grown up in a completely different culture. I know see that culture also goes hand in hand with community and most definitely tradition.

I had a hard time choosing my four pieces for my portfolio, due to my lack of confidence in my writing. Sadly, I felt I could have used all my pieces for the revision piece. For the critical thinking piece, I chose the Intermission 2 timed writing. In this assignment we were ask how our own perceptions of non-conformity were challenged in the film we chose to watch. I had a chosen the film the Whale Rider and felt that this assignment really challenged my critical thinking skills in analyzing the actions of the people in this movie. For my revision piece, I chose Intermission 1 timed writing. I chose this because it was the first time I ever had to write something in a timed setting. It could definitely be improved. In this assignment we had to write how the film defines what it is to be an outsider. I really struggled grasping this idea, and could benefit from revising it. I chose “What’s Your Community” for my audience and voice piece. I felt this piece fit this topic the best compared to the rest of my writings. The last piece I chose was paper three for the writer’s choice. Of course I might regret that after I get my grade. After writing this paper I felt good. The slow loss of family sit down dinners is something I feel strongly about, which made writing this piece a little more enjoyable.

Please remember when viewing my pieces, that I do try my best to be successful. I accept I will never write any books, but I know I will be a great nurse. We all have our weaknesses and English is mine. Although, I do not enjoy writing, I did enjoy the discussions in this class. The discussions gave me chance to use my voice, which in a class setting I would have remained quiet. Thanks for giving me your time.

Introduction to Critical Thinking Piece

For my critical thinking piece, I chose our second timed writing in which I was asked to demonstrate how the film, The Whale Rider, challenges my own perceptions of non-conformity. In this assignment I was able to put my critical thinking skills to the test by taking a peek into a culture different from my own and analyzing how the behaviors of the characters in the movie could be seen as non-conforming. My perception of non-conformity is someone who does not go with the flow, and causes ripples in society. With this in mind, I chose to focus on two characters, Porourangi and Pai, who I felt were the non-conformers in this movie. My analysis of these particular characters began with the following statement, “we see a young girl and her father who could be considered outlaws because of their refusal to except their chosen roles in the Maori tribe”. I analyzed how and why these characters refused to take on their expected roles and how this made them an outlaw within their tribe. For example, I talked about how Porourangi does not accept the role as the tribe leader his father, Koro expects him to fill. He rejects the tribe even more when his father asks him to ignore his newborn daughter and continue trying for son to become the new leader. I continue my analysis of non-conforming ways when I talk about Pai, Porourangi’s daughter. I discuss how Pai’s overwhelming need to fulfill her destiny overrides her ability to be “just a girl” in her tribe. This assignment required me to really look at the motives behind the actions of these characters, and sometimes it takes a little bit of non-conformity to find out true selves.

Crossing Boundaries

What is the definition of conformity? Wikipedia defines conformity as, “a process by which an individual’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by other people”. Based on that definition my perception of non-conformity would be an individual who does not let other people influence their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. In the movie The Whale Rider, we see a young girl and her father who could be considered outlaws because of their refusal to except their chosen roles in the Maori tribe.

The first peek we get at a character exhibiting non-conforming behavior, is in the beginning of the movie. Porourangi, the Maori tribes eldest son has just lost his twin son and wife during childbirth. Porourangi’s father, the chief, dismisses Porourangi’s twin daughter who survived, and tell’s Porourangi he must eventually move on and try for a son again in the future. Porourangi does not except the responsibility that his father places on him to father the future chief of the Maori tribe. To Porourangi, it is not important that his child is a boy or a girl. He accepts his daughter and shows his acceptance of her by giving her the name of the Maori’s ancestor Whale Rider, Paikea. Koro, Porourangi’s father is extremely upset by this, the name Paikea should not be used on a daughter. This action of non-conformity by Porourangi’s is followed with many more. Porourangi eventually moves away, leaving his daughter, and follows a path not approved by his father.

Porourangi’s father, Koro, is not happy about Porourangi’s actions, but eventually accepts and learns to love his granddaughter, Pai. Even though Koro feels he follows the rules of his culture very strictly, he too is guilty of non-conformity. His attitude toward his granddaughter is one that society is not willing to accept. In the movie, it is clear that Koro loves Pai, but holds no respect for her. Everyone around him accepts Pai for who she is, except Koro. He can’t see past his desire to have a boy to fulfill his idea of who the next leader of the Maori tribe should be. He is caught up in his old ways, he fails to see the true potential that his granddaughter possesses. He is failing to conform to how society treats their family members, the people we love the most. This was obvious in our class discussion of the movie. Most people seemed really upset with the way Koro treated Pai.

Everyone in this movie was guilty of a little non-conformity. I believe the main focus of the movie was Pai. Conformity for a girl in the Maori tribe was tested through Pai. She did not accept her role as just being a girl. She felt the desire inside of herself to be more. Despite what her grandfather thought, she consistently pushed her boundaries to be able to learn what it was truly meant to be part of the Maori tribe. This meant sneaking into the boys only school and secretly learning what the boys were learning. When she was no longer able to get away with sneaking around the school, she turned to her uncle to help teach her the ways of the Maori tribe. All of this was done against her grandfather’s wishes. Pai knew there was more to her than her gender, and she was willing to break social laws to be who she wanted.

I think when we first hear the words, non-conformity, we hear negativity. When we look further into what it means to not conform, I believe it can be positive as well. He people always conform, then how would we achieve individuality? How would we set ourselves apart from other people. I believe we have to have non-conformity in our world or it would be a very boring

Introduction to Revision Piece

I chose our first time writing as my revision piece. I chose this piece because it was the first time I have ever written anything with a time limit. Writing for me is extremely stressful, and adding the time limit created even more anxiety during this assignment. In the assignment I was asked to develop a thesis-driven discussion that demonstrates how the film Bend It Like Beckham defines what it is to be an outsider and how this supports or challenges my own beliefs.

During the process of writing this piece the first time around, my mind was clouded with stress and I made several mistakes. My main mistake was not including what my own beliefs of what an outsider are. It’s hard to discuss how the film challenges or supports my beliefs if I don’t include them in the piece. In my revision I was sure to include this in the very first paragraph and I wrote, “When I think of an outsider, I think of someone who is alienated from society because they choose to live their life differently from the people around them”.


In my first piece I had a tendency to summarize rather than give an analysis. Although, I struggled with the line between summary and analysis, I attempted to have more analysis and fewer summaries in my revision. Hopefully, being minus the time restraint I was able to make improvements to this piece.

Outsiders

The Original

When a person's personal hopes and dreams conflict with their cultural beliefs, that person may be seen as an outsider. If they chose to follow those dreams that conflict with their culture they take the chance of alienating themselves from the people they know best. "Bend It Like Beckham" gives us a peek into this situation. The movie uses the Indian culture as an example of how a person of this culture may become an outsider.

An example and main point of the movie is Jess' interest in playing soccer. In Jess' culture woman should dress and act in a certain way. Her mom doesn't approve of her wearing shorts and playing sports with boys. Jess' need to fulfill her desire to play soccer and this puts a strain on her relationship with her family, making her an outsider in her own home. Trying to force Jess into a lifestyle she doesn't want pushes her further into feeling like she doesn't belong. You can see she is uncomfortable with the traditional role she is expected to follow, while her sister is completely accepting of her role in the Indian culture. When an individual in a family is made to feel different, it will make them feel even more disconnected from their family and culture. Jess may have wanted to go play soccer in the United States to avoid feeling like she didn't fit.

In the movie Jess is not the only one to be placed in the role of an outsider. Eventually, the rest of her family gets a taste of it as well. When Pinky's future in-laws assume that Jess is involved with a British boy, they call off the wedding between their son and Pinky. They assume that Pinky and Jess' parents aren't good parents who follow the traditions of the Indian Culture. The in-laws cast judgment on the entire family and leave them to feel like outsiders. The in-laws must feel very strongly about how this will represent them, since they are willing to through away the happiness of their son to prevent association with Pinky's family. Many situations happen like this in the world. It can be a result of different cultures, different religions or different socioeconomic status. People can become outsiders if they attempt to change things that other people don't want changed.

The coach of the women's soccer team, Joe, felt like her was an outsider as well. His relationship with his father suffered because of it. He was so worried about being judged as a coach for a woman's team, he resisted communication with his father. Being a woman's coach made him feel like a failure, that if he was really good at what he did he would be coaching men's. Joe's culture may have not approved of women playing sports. Coaching them may have not been appropriate; therefore he refrained from telling his father. I believe it really made him feel alienated from his culture.

In a world where so many different ways of life occur. It is extremely difficult to avoid becoming an outsider. Their are so many temptations in the world to be different, that it would be hard to believe that every culture has people who would like to do things differently. I think that is how our society evolves and is constantly changing. It would be really boring if it didn't.

The Revision

When I think of an outsider, I think of someone who is alienated from society because they choose to live their life differently from the people around them. The movie Bend It Like Beckham reconfirms my belief of what it means to be an outsider by taking a look into a situation where two girls choose to follow a dream, rather than accept their chosen roles in their particular society. Sometimes in society chosen identity and expected identity can be very different, and when this happens we create our outsiders.

My first example and the main focus of the movie is Jess, and Indian girl, whose interest in playing soccer conflicts with her culture’s expectations of an Indian woman. The movie portrays Indian women as feminine, proper and strong believers of upholding the Indian traditions. Jess has a passion for playing soccer, an activity that was not typically played by Indian women. Because of Jess’ need to fulfill her desire to play soccer, she creates a strain on her relationship with her family, making her an outsider in her own home. The film shows us the conflict between Jess and her family members including her sister, who completely accepts her traditional role in the Indian culture. When Jess’ family compares her to her sister, Pinky, it only creates further alienation for Jess. If the expectation is to be like her big sister, Jess’ strong sense of who she is and what she wants can only alienate her even more. In the movie Jess’ actions coincide with my own definition of what it is to be an outsider, although her character is not someone I would have personally thought of as an outsider. Jess is not deliberately trying to be an outcast. She does not want to be different from her family and would love to be able to blend in and not bring attention to herself.

In the movie Jess is not the only to experience the role of an outsider. Although the members of Jess’ family are strong followers of their culture’s traditions, Jess’ actions place them into the role of outsiders as well. When Pinky’s future in-laws assume Jess is involved with a British boy, they call off the wedding between their son and Pinky and cast judgment on the entire family. They assume the Pinky and Jess’ parents are not good parents and do not teach their children to follow traditional Indian culture. The in-laws must feel very strongly about how this will represent them, since they are willing to throw away the happiness of their son to prevent association with Pinky and Jess’ family. I see situations like this in my own society. People are placed into the role of an outsider because they attempt to change long standing beliefs within a society. Changes may be what a people may need, but are too afraid to accept.

The coach of Jess’ soccer team, Joe, could be seen as an outsider as well. The beliefs that his father projected onto him, made him feel like the choices he made in life were not accepted. The fear of his father not accepting Joe as the coach of a woman’s soccer team, kept Joe from having any contact with his father. He thought that in the eyes of his father, coaching a women’s soccer team equals failure. This may be because in Joe’s culture, women playing sports was not accepted. Maybe coaching a women’s team was viewed as inappropriate. Joe was very careful in not having intimate relationships with his players. This happens in our culture as well. Women have certain sports that are not considered acceptable for them to play, for example, football. A woman who chooses to play football would be seen as an outsider or different.

We live in a world where there are many different ways of life. It is extremely difficult to have a world without any outsiders. It would seem to me that the world would be absent of social change if we did not have outsiders to create a ripple in our constant flow.

Introduction to Awareness of Audience and Voice Piece

For the awareness of audience and voice piece I chose our second blog assignment. In this assignment I had to explain how my own daily activities connected me to a community of people. I chose this piece because I feel it gives the audience in site into the life of a mom who stays home. It would be easy for some one to assume that moms who stay home are less likely to be involved in a community if they are too busy changing diapers, feeding kids and scrubbing toilets. On the contrary moms who stay home need to belong to a community as I stated in my piece, “Moms crave companionship outside their home, someone to make them feel normal and to share the ups and downs of life”. Writing this piece gave me the chance to use my voice as a stay-home-mom to share how my community is developed.