post 12

I could put different parts of my life under some thematic context or another, but I think there might be one best to the total sum of my experience, and in the interest of normalizing these things I'm going to be super blunt about it.

I've struggled with mental illness since I was about 6 years old. I've been on countless anti-depressants, several attention span corrective health plans, therapy. I spent the second half of my sophomore year of high-school in a mental facility.

I've spent my whole life fighting my own mind. Even medicated properly (which I am currently, thankfully), with a good diet and exercise regimen, I sometimes cannot muster the power to get out of bed, or cook, or go outside, or anything at all.

I think the theme of my life is almost unquestionably "Learning to be content even when you are miserable"

Post 11

I think the theme of the Story of the United States is the theme of progression.

It started as a group of wealthy white men who didn't want to pay taxes, and gradually became a nation where all were allowed to participate in the governmental process.

Post 10

Zack posted about his wallet, but he went into some detail about how the Pittsburg Steeler's logo that is on his wallet came to be. "It was originally the logo used by the company U.S. Steel, but looked a tad different. In 1962, the Steelers adopted the logo as their team logo"

Alex talked about the Seed of Life Pendant he wears, and how it can "form any equilateral geometrical shape in existence when repeated enough times." I looked it up and it's pretty cool. It goes back as far as ancient Egypt! 

Post 9

I don't really wear or carry anything symbolic. I have a couple pendants that hand from my rearview mirror that is somewhat symbolic but only to me. Each pendant is a symbolic representation of a Dungeons and Dragons adventure I've either run or played. I have one with a spider on it, a pig, and ankh, so we're going to talk about the last one.

Historically, an ankh is an ancient Egyptian symbol representing life and eternity. It's commonly depicted in the hands of the Egyptian Gods in tombs, symbolically giving eternal afterlife to the buried person.

It became a popular symbol in the 1960's for New Age religions like Wicca, generally with the same meaning of Life as in ancient Egypt.

Post 8

My colleagues had many thoughts on ZZ. Packer's "Geese", some of which were even valid.

Dainty's observation that Dina was motivated to flee a poorer neighborhood to a more wealthy culture was something I hadn't noticed. "To Dina, this was quite the opposite of her world as she knew it."

Imani had mostly the same understanding as me, that the setting was meant to convey a difference in American Culture and Japanese Culture. "One of the major differences was that the language is different, which made this story more interesting to us all. I could only imagine how she felt, knowing that the decision  wasn't considered so much of  a smart decision"

Post 7

ZZ Packer's story "Geese" takes place mostly in Toyko. This is important because Dina is not from Toyko, and generally neither is the audience. This means we are just as culturally confused as Dina through the course of the story.

The thing that is important about seeing Dina as the outsider, is that back in her home, the locals considered all Orientals to be the same. "Chong's is Chinese, Miss Gloria" "Same difference."

Arriving in Japan, Dina is now the outsider. "Everyone was looking at them, and she'd never felt more foreign, more gaijin"

Post 6

Gail Godwin is the author of "A Sorrowful Woman". The protagonist of the story is a woman who cannot bear to be around her child, and gradually distances herself from her responsibilities as a caregiver and a member of the family.

Godwin was raised by a single mother, "a college teacher who was the model for some of Godwin's strong female characters." Being raised by a single mother showed Godwin a version of adult life where being married as a woman (which certainly in the 40s and 50s was much more a subservient role than perhaps it is now) was not only unnecessary but harmful as well. Consider young Godwin, with her strong mother working a career and being her own person, surrounded by a society where wives are forced to stay home and raise children and wash dishes. I think the role of wife to Godwin seemed much more like "Brood-sow and maid" than "equal partner in a relationship"

Which is possibly where we get the protagonist for "A Sorrowful Woman". The role of wife and mother is literally so unfulfilling and so smothering that The Woman perishes.

Post 4

I'm not entirely sure I would consider any event in my life to be story or poetry worthy. The lack of dragons and explosions and punching is probably why. 

I suppose if I was forced to pick a single event to write a story about it would be...no I seriously can't think of anything. I guess I could write about going to Texas and how it was terrible, but it's a pretty boring story. Or I could write about how Florida is cursed and every time I go there some thing obnoxious happens. 

Poetry is easier, there's less need to tell an original story. One of my friends who writes lyrics for a living said that writing poetry is often about "bridging the gap between what is personal oand what is universal". This is why so many love songs and break up songs appeal to us. They contain details that give us a vivid depiction of a specific relationship but are also vague enough that we can consider them to apply to us. So for poetry,  I could write about previous relationships, or friends who have moved away, or being sick with the flu.