Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Changing Perspectives
I can't believe that the end of the semester is here. I hope you all got as much out of the class as I did. Now that we've moved through an entire semester together, I am interested to know if your perspectives have changed. Specifically, do you view your family and your own role in it differently? Has the class changed the presumptions you had about other people and your first impressions? When I took this class four years ago, I remember feeling like I had everyone figured out, but after listening to their personal family stories, I realized my assumptions were often off base. Did going into the text and hearing classmate's stories influence your perceptions about other people and how their backgrounds shape who they are? Thank you all for your openness and honesty in class. It was a joy to be present with you all through this experience! :)
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I don't view my family or my own role differently than I did at the beginning of the semester. After reading the books, I've seen how my own family is somewhat similar to some of the families we have read about. For instance, my brother in law's past reminded me of the Glass Castle, but you'll all hear more about that for my presentation.:)
I agree with Holly about thinking I had everyone figured out and being wrong after hearing their own personal stories. I definitely see how everyone's backgrounds and family life has shaped their life now. This class is the only one that actually gave me a chance to learn more than just names. It was really interesting to learn about each other's families.
I have learned a lot in this class about family and the different structures that there can be in a family. However I don't think it has affected how I look at my family or my role in my family. I liked learning about other people's family situations because sometimes we can forget that other people are very different. It is easy to make assumptions about others and this class definitely helped me to learn that you can never guess what someone's family is like. I think this is mostly because we did learn that a family can shape who we become, either if we become like them or the opposite of them. Did anyone else have any funny assumptions about other people?
I would say that I appreciate my family more now that I know what they mean to me as a person. I always knew that they did so much for me, but in a way I though that it was expected. After the Glass Castle I realize that my family doesn't really have to do anything for me and that they do it because they love me. It was kind of amazing to step out of my assumptions and see how amazing they really are.
I would say the same thing about the stories other people told. I saw how everyone's family life was a little different than my own and how they had adapted to that. I also saw that to a certain extent everyone has familial issues that they have to work through, and that made me recognize that my family, even in all their craziness, is still pretty awesome. I guess mostly I just got a new view of family in that people are not perfect and that most family members are doing the best they can in the best way they know how. It was really eye-opening and I appreciate the chance that I was given to see how other people view family. I also enjoyed talking about my family and getting in a few good laughs.
I pretty much view my family and their roles in the same manner that I previously did, but I feel like I have a deeper understanding of what drives each member. The class offered up many different forms of family and reasons behind individuals actions that made me consider some of the events and obstacles within my own family. The class offered a new outlet for thinking and working through problems without that being its obvious purpose.
I did make presumptions about a other classmates during the first and second class period based off of initial impressions. As the course progressed, I realized that I had assumed incorrectly in many of the cases. This was interesting to me because it made me realize that people are not how they initially appear. There are deeper layers to every person. It was very interesting to hear about some people's past or family life and relate it to how they present themselves in class. I really enjoyed that aspect of the class.
My perspective has definitely broadened this semester (that sounds weird, I hope that broadened is a word). However, like everyone else has said, it hasn't really changed how I view my family or my role in it. Like Veronica said, I've always thought that how my family cares for me was expected. A lot of times I remember saying things to my friends about our parents like, "Yeah you can spend the money, that's why they go to work, to make money so they can take care of us". That sounds a lot more horrible written down. And I know I haven't gone through anything horrible in my life, and that I'm spoiled compared to so many other people, and I'm grateful for where I am, but I know I take it for granted. Now that I'm away from them, though, I do appreciate my family more. I see every part of my life they were part of because now they're missing.
I knew not to make any assumptions about anybody, because I know that sometimes you don't even know your best friend enough to assume things about them. Even if you think you know, they could've lied to you. You may never know the truth. Therefore I had no business making assumptions about any of you, and I still don't, because even after you've shared some stories, there's still so much missing. I've been around you all for a semester, and that time is nothing in the grand scheme of our lives. But I like to make the most of it, and I have learned from this experience. I believe you learn from every experience, no matter how small. Even if you just learn not to drink orange juice anymore because you got sick from it once, you still learned something and that decision influences other future things in your life as well. I don't know your every decision, but I know some, and this class just reminds me that every thing we do makes a difference, gets us somewhere different. Even if some us went to Catholic school, none of us are even close to being similar. We all got something different out of it. And that's what's so cool. Each of us are unique and there will never be anyone else like each of us. No one will ever live the same life. There's always something to learn from the person sitting next to you. If I hadn't taken this class, I would be a different person, and so would all of you. I'm glad I learned even just a little bit about life from each of you. :]
In regards to my family, I would say I definitely appreciate them a lot more now. I always thought my parents were overly protective, but now, after reading about some truly dysfunctional families (I'm thinking of The Metatmorphosis and The Poisonwood Bible in particular), I am so grateful for the family I have.
I don't think my perspective about my role in my family has changed that much. I just value being a part of my family so much more. I like my role as a child to my parents and a sister to my brother. Learning about familial bonds has really made me cherish mine.
I came into the class and basically just assumed that everyone had a family. That was probably the extent to which I thought about the other people's families. From my past experiences, I am usually pretty off base with my preconceived notions about what someone's family is like, and so I really didn't try to guess what everyone's family was like. So, it was really interesting to hear all the stories about everyone else's families. I really learned about some different family dynamics, and it was really interesting to learn a little bit about everyone.
I had so much fun in this class! Who knew family could be so interesting? :P.
Ruth I have to agree with you on that point. I never thought that people could have such different family structures and not be affected by them. This class has definitely helped me to realize that family comes in all shapes and forms. I enjoyed reading the books and most of them really helped me appreciate my own family even more.
My perspectives have changed a lot. Before I came to this class, I didn't really understand the vastness of possibilities life has in store for different people. I didn't really understand that everyone was as equal as we were told. Although it is probably just an effect from moving away from your parents to college, I can't help but feel that I have developed academically in a sense I never have before. Understanding everyone else's life as just another route I could have taken is something I never would have done.
I, like many, think that this class taught me to value my own family more, but I don't think that my view of my family role has changed all that much. I think that I just have a broader view of family in general.
I did not come into this class trying to figure out other people. I honestly didn't really think about everyone else's families or make any assumptions about where they came from. The farthest my assumptions went were that they were interested in this class and had a family, but I have met so many different types of family structure and have learned that you can't assume anything about people. While backgrounds do shape people, as books like The Glass Castle show, how people turn out is not always indicative of where they came from.
I don't feel like my view of my family or how I fit into my family has changed very much since before I took this class. I have come to realize though, how much I need to appreciate my family. I've also discovered how much our families do really shape who we are as people, for good or bad. This is really interesting to me and definitely makes me grateful for having a family who has shaped me in a positive way.
One thing that I loved about this class from the very beginning was the fact that it was small and that we were all able to learn each others names and eventually get to know one another better. I did probably make assumptions about everyone initially but it was interesting to slowly find out more and more about one another. The family presentations have been incredible and I'm looking forward to hearing more this week!
Okay, so same thing. I appreciate my family and I love them, they're awesome. However, I don't view them differently, and I think my role is pretty much the same. The interview project helped me get more respect for them, and helped me know my heritage a lot more. The class helped me there definitely.
I don't think I made many assumptions about people's family. I mean I guess I thought of some stereotypes, but I never really dwelled on it. Hearing other people's stories was always fun and interesting though, and it gave new respect for them.
My family has always been important to me, and this class has not changed that. If anything I now love and appreciate them more.
Now, I think that I'm going to be different than almost everyone else by saying that I do think that this class has caused me to reexamine my role in my family. I'd rather not go into detail about it. I will say though that this examination has come partially through our discussions and primarily from the texts (The Kite Runner and The Glass Castle in particular).
It's easy to make assumptions about people that you have never met before. In most cases, you really do not have very much information to go off of. I did this at the beginning of the semester; it's hard not to. Now that everything is said and done, I think that some of the general conclusions that I made about some of my classmates still apply. However, through this class, I have learned so much more about them. I do not have only my initial observations to go off of. Through the things that people shared, it is now easy to connect their background with who they are today. So because of this, I definitely have a better understanding of all of you guys.
I've always known the duty I've had in my family and the responsibilities I have, but this class helped me to remember that I haven't fulfilled those duties as well as I should. I have grown more of an appreciation for my entire family, and learned so much about other families and stories. The books and my classmates' perspectives have shown me so much about different backgrounds and cultures, and I am so glad to have been a part of this class. I know that much of what I've learned in this class, unlike many other classes, will actually stick with me for the rest of my life.
I don't remember making assumptions about the class in the beginning. I'm the kind of person that loves meeting new people, for the sole purpose of getting to know them. What I did love about this class, like Katrina, was getting to know all of you and about your lives. There are things that I did learn about everyone that I never would have known, and it was great being a part of such a fantastic class. Thanks for an amazing semester.
This class has inspired me to do something that I do every now and then: to look at my family with more analytical eyes. It's got me thinking, if I were going to write about my family, where would I start? Where are the cracks and the imperfections?
While I started the class with some impressions that turned out to be wrong, I didn't have an opinion one way or another about most of the class. It has been really interesting to watch everyone's backgrounds take shape. To sound like a creeper, the more I learn about everybody, the more I want to know. I want to see how all the pieces-- family, life experiences, and what have you-- fit together to produce whole people.
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