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Coal Makes Vinyl

The slow-moving air in the room drifts upon the moon’s surface turned dark for the night.

A soft scratching floats down the canals teasing the drums.

Seven confused musical-thieves follow behind, disturbing the stillness.

Moving with a distorted warble.

Bands of morally-opposite pirates follow behind, adding to the invasion.

And another.

Tidal waves push them in further and further until the sea of the mind is overrun.

A beautiful ebb and flow of tones that are drawn deeper in with every rise and fall of the tide.

The whirlpool stirs with the churning of melodies and harmonies.

The ones who always inadvertently give more than they take have returned.

And the sea allows itself to be subservient to the man-made waves.

Offering a harbor to dock in for the night.

And the sea falls motionless, in all but the tranquil ripples of the welcomed invaders.

#Artifact 3 #Home #Coal Makes Diamonds

Why Are Cities Still So Segregated? (2018) NPR

#artifact 3 #video #npr

Looking Forward

Artifact: “What these authors have in common is the desire to make whatever subject they are speaking of accessible to more people. For Daley, this is literacy. For Pratt, it is really anything that couldn’t be viewed or understood if not for the contact zone. While I have my own opinions about each author’s piece as a whole, I completely agree with this idea of sharing as much as you can with as many people as you can. Knowledge is power, no matter the method which you receive it.”

This excerpt, taken from my CIP 9 assignment, points to a very bright hope. Beginning the course, I would have never dared question an author’s writing in my own. I have always been taught that what we read in books is truth, and that is what we are supposed to support in our wiring, regardless of whether we agree or not. But in this last little tidbit of one of the last assignments in the class, I think I did it beautifully. Not to toot my own horn here, but I think that this tiny little moment of my writing represents a heck of a lot of hard work that has been put into changing how I work as a writer. I bring both ideas in, I compare, I contrast, I put in my two cents, and end on an idea that I both believe in, and that brings my topic to a close in a respectful but also independent manner. Ok yeah — maybe it doesn’t do all that. But when I read it, that’s what I see. Of course I’m not going to include my entire CIP 9 here, but I believe this to be a swell ending to it. Perhaps I won’t be in another english class like this in my career as a student, and maybe I won’t necessarily be needing these writing skills for whatever career I end up in. But this shows me something that I will never not need, something that will stick with me forever: the ability to have my own opinions and not be afraid to show them (but also not come off as a conceded jerk while I’m doing that). Yes, I believe that I learned to have my own opinions at a young age, but never in a schooling environment. Honest to God, I think that this class has added more to my self-esteem and confidence and a student and a young mind than any other has. All ideas are valuable. All points of view are valid. Age, sex, gender, race, class, nothing stands in the way of that. And yes, I am fully aware that I am going all sorts of melodramatic here about a tiny piece of a tiny assignment that I did for a tiny bit of my life for a course that in the grand scheme of things will have a tiny impact on my grades and credit load here. Maybe it was the classroom environment, maybe it was the teaching, maybe it was the texts we read, maybe it was a combination of everything. But I feel more confident about my writing than I ever have, and I was more confident (to a fault I’m afraid) in this class than I had been in a long time. And that, my friends, is what I plan to take with me moving forward.

#artifact 3 #looking forward

“When you’re not a white male writing about white male things then somehow your work has to mean something.”

Chimamanda Adichie’s novel Americanah has gotten a lot of press in the past year, partially because it was just picked up as a film adaptation to star Lupita Nyong’o. But really, the novel has received such interest because there aren’t many novels that hit the mainstream that are much like it. Americanah explores what it means to be black in the United States, such as Adichie and her protagonist faced when they moved from Nigeria to the U.S. to go to college. This kind of novel, one that explores the immigrant experience and the woman experience, is not widely accepted in mainstream literary media. But with this great book’s success and talent, isn’t it time this changed?

In a study following seven black girls participating in an online school young adult book club, the issue of relatable was evident. The author noted: “I am haunted by the words of these young African American females, who, in the 21st century, could not recall reading one book that they had read by African American female authors in their high school English classes” (Dillard 1). The lack of presence equals lack of example, and therefore leadership. Young girls deserve better.

http://www.salon.com/2014/03/13/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_when_you%E2%80%99re_not_a_white_male_writing_about_white_male_things_then_somehow_your_work_has_to_mean_something/

http://www.npr.org/2013/06/27/195598496/americanah-author-explains-learning-to-be-black-in-the-u-s

#Chandler Johnston #Artifact 3

Analysis

There is, sadly, very little that can be done in stopping all people from saying any mean and hurtful things. But what Demi Lovato really represents when she talks about getting help related to eating disorders is the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people. One of the things she has talked about time and time again is that the reason she speaks out about her disordered eating is for the fans, who have told her about how it has helped them with their own problems and gave them a figure to look up to and who she feels tremendous love for and from.

One of the problems Demi says that she had was a lack of some one in her life in a similar role model position to the one she now holds. Everyone in the spotlight she looked up were incredibly skinny stars who presented that as realistic and normal and so she thought that was how she should be too, regardless of the costs. By talking about the way she has striven to ensure that those voices telling her she is too fat, or not beautiful or good enough are only mummers and no longer screams, she has become a face of the success that treatment can have.

In her case also, she says that taking the power away from herself to resort to purging or self mutilation is another technique that helps her very much. She has found that by telling people close to her that she is having those thoughts, she is able to keep them from being acted upon. This is a powerful testament to how love and support can help a person drowning in insecurities learn to swim. Her newest tattoo says "Now I'm a warrior" and she says that since the tattoo is permanent she views it as a promise to herself to stick to this resolution to be healthier.

Eating disorders are not just the actions of not eating or purging or bingeing, were that the case they would not be so hard to heal from. Eating disorders are a way of thinking and a cycle it can be easy to get caught up in and very tricky to break out of. Because they are so tricky to beat, finding loving people who care about you getting better and making the commitment to yourself to really stick with being healthier rather than thinner is vital. Those thoughts of insufficiency and dissatisfaction may never fully disappear but seeking help, having consistent support and self determination are the best start there is.

#Artifact 3

Summary

Demi Lovato, who has been in the spotlight since age 7 when she started as an actress on Barney, struggled with bullying for the whole of her childhood. When she eventually came further into the spotlight as a Disney Channel star she was already involved with disordered eating behaviors that fell somewhere between anorexia and bulimia as she would sometimes refuse to eat and sometimes resort to self reduced vomiting after food consumption. The pressure of celebrity status did nothing to help her self image. Hateful comments and criticism directed at her caused Demi to be so dissatisfied with her self that in addition to refusing food or throwing it up to stay thin, she would self mutilate.

When eventually these problems reached a sort of climax and she lashed out at a coworker by hitting him, she decided that it was time to seek treatment. She has since left treatment and speaks out actively about how important it is to keep people aware of how hateful words and bullying can compel a person to feel this way about their body and use such unhealthy techniques for 'fixing' what they believe to be the problem. Demi says that it isn't easy, still, and probably never will be, but that she has found techniques to help herself refrain from falling back into dangerous habits.

#Artifact 3