Response to Maya Angelou

It was a personal dream of mine to see Maya because I read her poetry as a younger girl all the time.  Oddly enough, I also used to read Edger Allen Poe, or EAP as she so fondly called him.  I was ecstatic to know we had similar preferences in poetry.  I took what she had to say to heart as if she were any of my other idolized persons in my life that I saw or spoke to everyday.  She had wisdom that can only come from her experiences but at the same time can be applied to many other circumstances.  That is what I believe constitutes a virtuous and sagacious human being.  Her sense of humor was an absolute blessing because it showed how humor really does carry you through even the worst of times.  She has the history to prove it. 


Two things that will never leave me are her references to being a rainbow and her mentality on self worth.  My most favorite quote of hers was "you're not alright, you're just right."  It was unbelievably simple but so profound as it came through my ears.  Sometimes all you need to hear are simple words that define such a complex issue.  Also, while I can list forever the names of those who were rainbows in my life, I am purposefully striving to become a rainbow in someone else's life.  Anywhere where I can shed some light, I want to make a conscious effort to do so. 

Artifact from my "culture"

Now.  If that isn't the most "hip" way to put adoption, then I don't know what is.  This is a highly unrealistic situation for most families, as it would cost a fortune to adopt that many out of country children.  While it is a blessing to those children that they are being raised in a better situation than their previous ones, I believe that this is giving off a "it's the cool thing to do" vibe.  That is not how, in my opinion, overseas adoption should be looked at.  What reasons did Angie and Brad have for adopting?  Was it because they were in the public eye and wanted to do a "good deed" or do they really have a heart for these children in some other special way?  I am not one to make that judgement call, but it must be questioned before following this "trend."

Beaman Creepin'

I think what interested me the most was having to look into the subconscious happenings in the beaman that people do on a day to day basis.  There is some meaning to what they do, but I bet they don't even realize it by this point.  It's such a common ground and repetitive section of campus that is makes it hard to dig any deeper than face value on my observations.


What disturbed me was how watched I actually felt while I was essentially watching everyone else.  The tables somewhat turned and it often times made me more uncomfortable than they were and I was unable to focus.


What surprises me the most was the fact that I actually thought interesting things would happen in such a general location and in fact the happenings were very mundane and completely in the norm.  It also surprised me how one place can be used for so many different things and yet it still has the common themes of being a general location, easy, convenient, personal to an extent and comfortable.

Possible Research Topics

My very first choice in research topics would be to investigate the discourse of families who adopt children of a different race.  It is an interest of mine because one day I hope to adopt a child from Uganda after I have a few of my own.  My reasons may be different than others and I want to know how a situation like that fully plays out.  How does it affect the parents?  How does it affect the child of another race?  How does it affect the other children (if any)?  Why did they choose to go that route?  What are the benefits and what are the downfalls?  I know a few people who have done this and I also know a few people who look at this idea and do not approve.  I want to know why it is looked at negatively and why others are highly drawn to the idea.  After all, I will hopefully be following in some of these people's footsteps one day.

My Second choice would be to investigate the "why" and "how" of the idea to run marathons or do triathlons.  It amazes me how long it takes to prepare for something like that and what these people do to train for it.  Because i have no interest in running a marathon ever, this would simply be a little investigation into their motivation and training habits just so I know.  Like, how long does it take to train?  What methods are there?  How does it differ between a man and a woman?  How does it affect the rest of your everyday life?  Why would you want to run a marathon or triathlon- beyond "just to check something off a bucket list"?  There are so many angles to play off of in this investigation as well.  However, I would still stick to the first one because I have such a passion an actual interest in the Discourse.