Therefore, I truly don’t know how I could say that I think illegal immigration is wrong. Doesn’t everyone deserve a fair chance to better improve their life? Isn’t that what the Declaration of Independence of our country declare that every human being has the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?” How can we recite this document or any other for that matter if we cannot live up to the words that it professes?

Until this class, I had never even imagined that we are all immigrants. Maybe not in the exact same sense of the word but America is the world's melting pot. However, why are we so neglectful of it's indigenous people? As a 21 year old college senior, I feel like there was something major missing from my education that I had never been exposed to the tragedy that was the discovering of this country. Sure, we had lessons behind things like Thanksgiving but of course those occurrences were portrayed in a positive light. My textbooks had always had pictures of cartoon Indians and settlers gleefully enjoying a turkey dinner with one another. But there is so much more behind it. I felt so ignorant to not know that there was so much resentment and anger toward white people by the Native Indians of this country.

After the lecture Tuesday about immigration, as usual, my previous opinions and thoughts on the matter had been shattered and I begun to think about the reasoning behind the way I thought about things. The part that truly changed my entire perspective was the political cartoon shown on one of the slides which portrayed someone from government proclaiming that all of the illegal immigrants in this country should be deported and sent back to their native countries, and next to him was an Indian American with a thought bubble that read "I'll help you pack your bags."

It’s hard for me to say that any class of Sam’s was the best. I really think that after each class Sam just raises the bar for himself for next time. With each class he brings such a dept and insight to something different. However, like he said in the e-mail he sent out to us, this was the first lecture that was solely based on his ideas and opinions which I think makes it mean a lot more. I think this class and its content was probably the most influential, to me, so far though. It definitely opened my eyes to so many things I had never thought of before. I tend not to watch the news almost at all, because most of the time it just gets me down and out, so I don’t know a lot about what’s going on and never really gave thought to the war although I have thought a lot about oil prices but only because they’ve substantially risen recently. One thing I never thought about was what it must be like to be someone living in Iraq at this moment. When Sam told us to put ourselves in the shoes of someone living in Iraq it really blew my mind. It sounds so simple but there is so much more to it. I have taken for such granted the opportunities and freedom I have been giving as an American. When I think about the things I do and think on a daily basis they seem so normal and ordinary. I go to class, think about what I’m going to eat for lunch or dinner, if any of my favorite shoes are new that night, how much homework I’ll have to get done and what a hassle it will be to go to the library. I never stop and think how lucky I am that that is the extent of worries I have throughout the day. There are kids my age trying to live a life and go to college who have to worry about bombings and if they’ll lose a member of their family that day because we are in the middle of a war that happens to be being fought on their land because that’s where the commodity happens to be. What if that commodity were right here in America? What would I do? If I lived 3 hours away from my family to become educated not knowing if the next time I went home they’d be there. It’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever thought about but definitely one of the most life changing. So yea, I would definitely say this was one of Sam’s best yet, incase the claps at the end of class Tuesday didn’t.

When I read this question, the first thing that came to my mind was when I was younger and used to go to the nail salon for manicures, pedicures, etc. In Philly, it is impossible to find a nail salon (not connected to an extremely expensive spa/salon) that is not run by Asian people. Whenever I was sitting in the chair having my nails worked on, the man or woman doing my nails would make small talk with some broken English. However, when they would communicate with each other it was always in their native language. At first, it didn’t really bother me until eventually I began to feel nervous that they were talking about me right in front of my face in a language that I couldn’t understand. As I got older I began to hear more and more about the rumors about “the gossiping Chinese ladies who do your nails.” More and more Asian comedians used it as puns and jokes whenever talking about their own race saying “yes, we are talking about you.” It’s been quite some time since I’ve actually had my nails, toes or eyebrows done in one of those salons because I tend to do everything on my own now but, if I were to be in there listening to them talk in another language I’m sure I would begin to feel suspicious that they were talking about me. It’s actually gotten me to the point where I feel like unless one party doesn’t speak a word of English it is rude to talk in another language in front of someone who doesn’t understand. Of course, something like this is really situational. If I’m sitting in the HUB and two people are speaking Spanish next to me, if I even notice it, then I highly doubt I would be afraid they were talking about me. It’s just as easy to have someone talk about you right next to you in English without you realizing (me and my friends do it sometimes, I’m embarrassed to say). So, to think that the two Spanish people laughing down the table from me are talking about me before I would mentally accuse two people speaking English seems paranoid and racist to me.

The fact that something like this could happen in the middle of everyday America absolutely horrifies me. To imagine that a young child(ren) could be experiencing something so horrific leaves me dumbfounded. I don’t understand how any person could bring someone into this world and then turn around and treat them that way. Not only abuse them and try to convince them to kill themselves but also to single that one child out from their brothers and sisters as the only one having to experience something like this. It is absolutely disgusting. I just can’t wrap my mind around the idea of someone being so cruel and demented. I give the person who wrote this article so much credit for even being able to open up and share his story with other people. I can honestly say that I could never in my life imagine being able to go through something so terrible and coming out on the other side alive and able to function, although I know whether or not he was able to function is debatable, my point is he made it out alive. Society talks to teens so much about bullies and how to handle being bullied but almost 100% of the time it is in the context of being bullied by a peer. How does someone even approach the idea of promoting a message that says “if you’re being coerced into suicide by your parents, give us a call.”? It’s something so almost impossible to think about that it seems unrealistic to even think about. I truly hope to God that this person finds peace somehow in his life and finds God so that he can somehow try and recover. I know that for the rest of my life he will be in my prayers and on my mind whenever I think about abuse. This is a story that has truly touched my heart and something that will stick with me, especially after I have kids. When I dream about having children the only thing I can think about is how much I plan on loving them and giving them everything good that this world has to offer, I can’t imagine ever causing them harm rather than protecting them from it. And now, especially after being exposed to this story, I know I will love and appreciate them (as well as my own parents) so much deeper. It’s hard to imagine people growing up without the luxuries and blessings we grew up with, but now I keep those whose story I or anyone else for that matter may never hear in my heart and in my prayers.

When I began thinking about my answer to this question, a couple different situations and scenarios played out in my head. My initial reaction was “Yes. If people are struggling to make ends meet then the most logical decision would be to stop having children.” I wondered why people would want to just continue going further into debt, adding on tuition after tuition and medical bill after medial bill depending on state funding like welfare and food stamps. Not only did it seem selfish to bring innocent children into that type of situation but it seemed unfair if they did in fact depend on extra funding from the government which is ultimately provided by taxpayers. But then, after giving it some more thought, I felt a little ignorant to make such a snap judgment. I thought about my own current situation. When my parents had my two sisters and me, they had stable jobs and the means to provide all of our necessities as well as anything we wanted. However, more recently, my father found himself out of a job leaving us to depend on the small income my Mom now makes as a receptionist. We’re now struggling desperately to stay above but it seems that it just continues to get increasingly harder with each week that passes by. In the beginning of this semester, my Mom was faced with the decision of paying either our mortgage or my tuition bill. Not to mention the two Catholic school tuitions she also has to worry about for my two sisters. Sometimes people find themselves in poverty after they have children. As I thought of this, I felt disappointed with myself for actually being in a similar situation, maybe a little less severe, and still making a snap judgment to immediately say that people who are in poverty with a large amount of children are just selfish. I was honestly in shock today, as I assume most people in class were, to hear that Tammy came from a family of twenty one or twenty two children. I have to admit that I’m still a little baffled as far as how it is even possible to support that many children. However, if you look at your TV more and more reality TV shows are popping up following the lives of families with a large amount of children and it seems that we are becoming a community of people who are entertained by watching these parents find ways to get by raising all of these people. Jon and Kate is probably one of the most popular examples along with 19 Kids and Counting (implying that the Duggar’s don’t seem to have any intention on stopping). Jon and Kate found themselves in a predicament after using fertility drugs when Kate discovered she was carrying five embryos after already giving birth to a pair of twins. When faced with the decision of whether or not to abort some of the babies early in the pregnancy to make it easier to carry Kate refused. Jon and Kate were a middle class couple with seven kids before TLC discovered them and I wonder that if they never had the fame and success from their television show if their community and the public would be as accepting and interested in them.

To answer the question “What is the best way to bring others’ experiences closer to us,” a bunch of ideas ran through my head, although, none of them were very practical. Sure, bringing a young child from Haiti to talk to a lecture hall of 750 college students about what it’s like to grow up in the path of destruction left behind by the earthquake’s and limited resources would be sure to rock everyone’s world but, it would take a lot of chipping in on all our parts. But, I think a lot of people overlook the impact and effectiveness of the weekly discussion groups we all meet at and talk to one another in. This week’s discussion group, for me, was really effective. There are so many diverse people within the small group and, luckily for me, they are all extremely open and willing to share but at the same time willing to listen. This week’s meeting, for me, was the most enjoyable so far. Not only did I get to share a lot about my life, experiences, family, home and more but I got a peek into the window of a lot of different cultures as well. After telling my story, someone from a suburb of New Jersey shared her story, followed by someone who was from an Indian background but grew up in the states, and then someone shared their experiences of living around the globe. I grew up most of my life thinking that everyone’s life was pretty much like mine, a pretty immature thought, until I got to college. This was probably because up until the time I was in college, the people around me all seemed to have a pretty similar life. However, just meeting people from different backgrounds still isn’t as eye-opening and intriguing as these groups. At first I theorized that the reason so many people shared so much was because we feel like in a classroom setting we’re obligated to participate but now I see the passion in everyone for their experiences and where they’ve come from. I really look forward to the discussion groups, not only because I learn so much about a lot of people who are from such a wide array of backgrounds but, I get to tell my story as well. It may seem pretty simple on paper, 21 year old, white, female, went to Catholic school in Philadelphia for 18 years. However, there is a lot more to be said about me and my life and the discussion groups are an opportunity I am so grateful to have.

I will admit that I was one of the people who initially responded that the woman who was arrested for sending her children to a different school district was the victim of racism and then after Sam’s lecture changed my answer to “I don’t know.” I don’t know if it was the way Sam phrased it the first time around or my instincts that made me think because this black woman had been thrown in jail it was due to some act of racism against her. After I changed my answer the second time around, I began questioning myself about why I was so quick to jump to my clicker and say that she was discriminated against just because she was black. “Was it JUST because she was black?” I asked myself. When I think back on it, I think it was something inside of me that associated this black woman with the oppressive cry I used to associate with black people. When Sam asked the question “Was this woman discriminated against?” I’m ashamed to say I had just assumed she was based on her skin color. After hearing the facts and paying more attention to the information that Sam presented in class, I came to the realization that I had made a jump decision. At the end of class, I almost didn’t want to answer the clicker question because I felt so ignorant about how quickly I had responded in the beginning. When I think back on it, I don’t know exactly what it was that made me jump to a conclusion about whether or not it was discrimination that landed this woman in jail. A part of me feels like it was the ignorance that just assumed most black people were thrown in jail because as a race they are viewed as criminals and another part feels that maybe it was my laziness of being in class not really wanting to think that made me interpret Sam’s tone and choosing the answer he may have been hinting at. Either way I’m not happy to say that I was one of the people who chose racism at first and then changed my answer at the end. I’m glad that this was one of the questions posed in a video because it bothered me after class walking home to feel so ignorant and now this blog gives me the chance to explain and reflect on my decisions. That experience has made me take a second look at the things I THOGUHT I knew opposed to the way I instinctually behave. It definitely made me take a second look at myself and I can honestly say from here on out I will be taking a few steps in my thinking process before I make another decision like this one.

My first reaction to this story is WOW, just absolute astonishment that someone could have such courage to share this story with so many people. There is someone in my family who has spent most of their life in jail for taking the life of another person but, it is not something we openly talk about at all. I and the other members of my family know why they were in jail but it isn’t anything my family has sat together and talked about therefore, I never really got a glance into what it was like for them to deal with this guilt and anguish. From what I have experienced, I can say that it has taught me one moment, one mistake in your life has the ability to ripple and change so many lives forever. My family member, at the age of 55, is just getting their life in order after nearly 30 years in prison. The second thought I had after reading this story is a thought I had when we were discussing death row in class either this week or the week before. While we were discussing prisoners’ last meals and how we would feel if someone who had taken a loved one from our lives had been given the opportunity to choose their last meal, this lead to people discussing what they would do to the person themselves. This made me think about what I would do personally, if someone had murdered someone in my family. Naturally, as I would assume would be anyone’s first thought, I thought to myself “I would personally want the opportunity to skin and murder the bastard.” The next thought I had was that at one time, someone was thinking that about my uncle, my own flesh and blood. If this were the case, someone I know and love dearly would have been taken not only from my life but the rest of my family as well, ultimately shaping our lives in a negative way. Sometimes when I feel thankful that he only served a certain amount of time instead of receiving the death penalty it makes me feel selfish knowing the intense grief and pain it caused another family who had been altered in that same negative way I was thankful to avoid. To this day I still don’t know where I stand on the death penalty. It’s almost the same thing I feel about abortion, something I won’t necessarily have a solid opinion about until it’s actually happening to me and I’m faced with a decision to be made about something happening to me at that time. However, after reading this story I am definitely more enlightened toward the aftermath of situations and how after the grief and anger forgiveness can happen and maybe that forgiveness could lead to a peace someone never thought possible.