Let's Set Some Guidelines...

HELLO FRIENDS! 

julenejenson903 again, OKAY so... I was looking through my page views a little interested on how many times this blog has been viewed (ignoring the fact that most of the page views are mine). Then, I stumbled upon something very interesting... I saw that my blog has been viewed EIGHT TIMES by someone in Ireland and ONCE by someone in Indonesia this week alone!! This is so amazing, and I am so happy that Silently Loud has gone international.

I know that this blog is still basically in the beginning stages but I want to set some guidelines in order for this blog to improve exponentially.
1. I will start posting something that is not assigned every week. I am not sure on which day yet but I will try to get something up for you guys at least once a week in order to keep the creative juices flowing. If you did not know I did start this blog for my AP Literature and Composition class but I want to talk about a number of other things that interest me.
2. PLEASE leave comments if you read my posts! If you have anything to say positive or constructive criticism please say it! I would love to hear what you have to say.
3. I want this blog to be a place for people who are voiceless to have a voice. This is a place where we can be passive aggressive, where we can be spies on secret missions, where we can be SILENTLY LOUD.

All in all, I started this blog just for an assignment, but seeing that I have a vast audience that has at least looked at this page gives me hope that this blog will be bigger than I imagined.
Have a wonderful day wherever you are and do not forget to leave your footprint on the world.

Culture and Its Influence

I remember when I was little, my mother told me that being different should be praised. This is a mindset that I hold very close to my heart. Although I was brought up knowing that I should not let myself be tied down from outside influences, often times it is very difficult to not let these influences shape me in even the slightest way. There are too many people, including myself who are often left asking themselves: How do I manage to stay true to myself whilst staying true to the culture I was born and raised with? In my opinion, there is not necessarily a set in stone answer to this question. It all depends on the specific culture and whether the environment the particular person grew up around was set for their best interests or not.
While I was browsing an amazing website called YouTube, I came across a show called Taboo. One can easily infer what the show is about by just looking at the name. Taboo is defined as a practice or subject that is not acceptable to talk about or do, meaning that the show observes many practices or actions others do that certain cultures could consider unacceptable, or--taboo. The particular episode I was watching tackled the subject of body modifications, and one particular body modification stood out to me like a light bulb in a sea of darkness. A tribe located in a small town called Nai Soi in Thailand, consists of a unique group of women. At a very young age, most of the women in this tribe decide to put brass-looking rings around their necks in order for them to appear elongated. This particular body modification initially freaked me out, and I questioned why they would do such a thing to their bodies. As the episode went on, I realized that most of these women decide to put the rings around their necks because their mothers most likely had them on as well-- it is part of their culture. These women are raised, constantly exposed to other women appearing this way, therefore making women with these long necks beautiful to others in the community. In this particular case, I think that one’s culture can enable him/her to the creation of his/her’s identity. When a person’s religion, or common practices play a huge role in his/her’s life, it is very likely for their culture to play a huge influence on their identity.

In my AP Literature and Composition class, my classmates and I were assigned to read a coming-of-age novel called Native Son by Richard Wright. I know what you must be thinking: julenejenson903, this book must have been the struggle to go through, why are you talking about this assigned book?!! Well, this is one book that I would read on my free time for a second time. This book followed the story of a man named Bigger Thomas, and his struggles as a result of the harsh world he lived in. Bigger’s culture (which essentially set Bigger up to believe that whites were above him) hindered the creation of his identity. For the majority of the novel, Bigger could not focus on who he was because of his constant fear and anxiety due to his surroundings. Bigger was surviving, not living; because Bigger was on survival mode, he could not focus on himself and the steps he needed to take in order to create his own identity. So, in this case I think that someone’s culture can also hinder the creation of his/her identity.

All in all, the essential questions we ask ourselves does not have to have one answer. The answer to my essential question does not necessarily have to be the answer to your essential question. It all depends on the individual, and the situation. Life is just too complicated to view it through one set of eyes.