Let the BIRD SING!!!

First thing I thought of when I heard we were reading a memoir by Maya Angelou I thought of a strong woman who wrote one of my favorite poems called "Phenomenal Woman".

"Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman"

So to think that the woman who wrote this poem that so empowered me through my awkward puberty was at one time so not confident in herself made no sense to me. Then I read this book and it all made sense. Women need to go through something to reach the other side of happiness. Not just women, humans. That outside of every truly terrible storm there is a rainbow. Maya Angelou's life described in her memoir seems to be a testament to that very statement. I think that at the end of her memoir where it ends with the birth of a beautiful baby boy the caged bird is let free. She sees the true potential she has by the fact she automatically protects her new baby that is entirely her own. I find that completely fascinating that mothers have this innate sense to protect their babies. This realization empowers her. This woman at the end of her book is the woman I see who would write about being a "Phenomenal Woman".

The BIG Question

"Giving a crap about your users..." That's what Gary Vaynerchuk kept really referring to. "To give a crap" was what I found most profound ironically because the truth is he is right. If I do not care about what I am doing but am just in it to make alto of money there is no happiness in that. This Gary guy was right about many things. He loves people so working with people is a must in whatever line of work he pursues. So recognizing one's fundamental passions can relate to whatever major or minor they choose. I think it is imperative that we now look at our strengths so we can not only utilize them in the workforce but so we can utilize them now and develop them with the major we pursue. I guess the compliments that I receive the most are about how I seem to know "everyone". I always shake this off and say "bahh no I don't". But I think I am very good at meeting others and making them feel comfortable enough with me to actually have a conversation and feel as if they matter. I love making others feel like they matter. It really gives me a certain joy to know that I made someone's day a little better. I also am good with public speaking. I like to talk in public although I do get very nervous one could never tell because I can usually keep my cool. These two skills are not my only skills but are what I think is most prevelant and able to be seen when one meets me. Therefore, when I look at my majors and should automatically think how those skills can be transferred into a potential job one day. Or at least ponder the idea because as of right now I have no idea what line of work I actually want. This discerning is very difficult because to give yourself a compliment is a lot harder these days when everyone seems to want downgrade their accomplishments. I think what I am interested which is a language is perfect since I love to speak and communicate with others so learning another language to communicate with a different culture is perfect! Step one complete! Now I just have to think about how that would go into the workforce... Oh man career crossings is going to have their work cut out for them when I step into their office. At least with this assignment I'll be able to tell them what I am good at!

Don't Speak

The first thought that came to mind when little Maya decided not to speak was, "Yea good luck with that!" I truly thought it wasn't possible because I thought of myself. I am the blabbermouth of the century. Sometimes I wish I could just remain quiet just to take in the moments that occur. That I am just present and being in the moment. But little Maya's description on what it takes to be silent is almost a paradox in and of itself. She says, "I discovered that to achieve perfect silence all one had to do was attached themselves leechlike to sound" (pg. 87). Only in this way was she able to maintain her silence. It seems to me that the only to be quiet is to just soak up the world around you so that you are so preoccupied with what is happening you don't have to even think about talking. This whole memoir threw me for a loop. I did not think she would literally stop talking. I thought the title was a metaphor for how she found her "real" self and therefore is able to talk with authority rather than being too meek or like a doormat. I find that this memoir is very compelling while also probably scandalous because of how Maya Angelou describes rape threw the eyes of her little girl self. I find that extremely different from anything I've ever read. She even describes at first having liked it because someone was holding her. This little girl so confused and likes the fact that someone is showing her love. That is what she describes the holding as... love. I found this the saddest party of all. Her only human real contact in St. Louis was the saddest and most dangerous of all.

Mary Gordon, Your Eloquence Astounds Me

Well I for one must say that I was not really ready for that speech Mary Gordon said. I really came in thinking we were going to hear about her past books. I guess I should have looked over the pamphlet before I went in. Nevertheless, Mary Gordon surprised me with her accent that sounded straight out of Boston and her eloquent and insightful speech about eccentric painters and poets I had never even heard of. She made me feel extremely small. As if I have learned nothing in my last eighteen years and that I need to step outside of this box and start reading and reading and reading!!!! I must be honest and say that sometimes she was just over my head with the analogies to wars I did not know in as much detail as she did and in comprehensive takes on pieces of art that I honestly did not even know where and how to begin to interpret. But before I throw myself a pity party I comfort myself in the fact that yes, I am only eighteen, meaning I have the luxury of being able to learn more and more about the world. This can be said for really all ages but I feel that I am really in the beginning of the stage because I am in the beginning of college, where the thirst of knowledge begins (or so I have been told). I am elated for such a tumultuous journey. I just learned from this talk that one is never done learning and that her love of writing and the arts is apparent through her talk and her insightful looks on things that maybe others do not see. It was just so inspiring to see women much older than her look to her opinion on pieces and how they admired and respected that opinion without doubt!

Showing the Spiritual Side

Mary Gordon talks of museums full of art like it was likened to the Sistine Chapel. And it may that they are in their own way similar in respect to both having beautiful art. But Gordon says that "to a museum is a kind of prayer. (pg. 239)" She says this because she says that both in prayer and in her visits to the museum she shows and feels adoration, thanksgiving, supplication, and contrition. When I saw what she compared seeing art to praying I then understood. She is saying without saying it exactly that her kind of faith life is different then her mothers. That for Gordon to achieve a sense of spiritual being she must be in a place where her passion can take flight. That place is a museum. Yet I also wonder about her own art that she makes and if that since she is so enamored with paintings did she become a writer because she could not paint? Maybe this is just silly musings but I always assumed that one that was such a fan of art would love to also be able to have the kind of talent to achieve grand masterpieces that make people think. I think Gordon achieved that in her writing. But even more so because with the writing she gives the audience a view inside the very depths of the subject to whom she is writing about. Whereas the painter can only paint what is seen and tangible. I think to be able to illuminate the world of one's viewer is far more precious because you can make them think even more!

President Mooney's Speech

So as I was sitting listen to President Mooney I realized that a minute ago I had been so unbelievably tired and now I am truly listening to what she was saying. When she talked about exploring my options at a liberal arts college I immediately thought about how I have such a support system in which I can choose and change my major. It also made me think about how the classes I am taking will in fact make me a well rounded person. But to get there I have to get through....BIO!!! BOO! She talked about the fetal pig and all I wanted to do was gag. But what struck a chord with me most of all was that she and the other students did no know what they wanted to do right away. That made me feel very relieved. Although I was still nervous by the amount of activities they were involved in. Anyways, that is besides the point. I truly feel now that I need to be okay with taking a variety of classes, of trying new things I would not normally think I'd do. I think in this way I can expose myself to different ideas and get out of my comfort zone. For I think college is doing just that. I think it is that high board in the swimming pool that everyone is afraid to jump off of. I want to dive right in. I have decided that, that is my goal and what I really need to work on. That and getting my schedule and time management in order! But in the end President Mooney's talk helped me see that I need to take a chance and dive in not only in meeting new people but the knowledge that is at my disposal here!

Girl interrupted again and again...

Well this movie completely scared me! I couldn't believe that people could think and feel this way especially Angelina Jolie's character, Lisa was so unfeeling towards Daisy's suicide. It did not even occurr to her that she probably drove Daisy to kill herself. So I think that these "girls" need to be interrupted. That this interruption is the mental hospital in which they reside. It is a wake up call. It will take longer for some but it is something that they need to go through so that they will confront their problem. For Lisa it took many "interruptions". When I say that I mean her having to be dragged back after a run away attempt and then dragging her back after yet another run away attempt. This will continue to happen until she realizes what she needs to confront so she can deal with it. For no one can truly be "normal" we all have flaws and I think Winona Ryder's character realized that when she talked about just coping with her issues. For no one is able to truly go through life without "interruptions" A.K.A. time to deal with what life has thrown at them. I feel this move title is applicable to all people. It shows what can truly happen to grown adults when they are unable to cope with their own thoughts. It is "you" amplified that is what Ryder's character Susanna said. This, I think, means that one part of you that totally takes over and therefore makes you unbalanced and not really able to function when your so one sided in personality. It makes me think that this movie is trying to say that is it not a vast leap to "insanity" that it happens and is possible to all types of people. The thought gives me chills.

Close Reading on Mary Cassatt's Paintings

1.) In this picture my first impression is one of sympathy for the ignored child. The mother is busily sewing and it is beautiful outside while the child is cooped up inside looking bored. The subject of the piece is the mother and child because of the way they are the brightest points of color in the painting. I know they are the subjects because they both have brighter colors surrounding them and have lines from the woman's outfit even to the chair that point towards the woman and child.

2.) I think because this is an impressionist painting what sticks out most to me is the way in which the the whole painting is softer. I mean this in the way that Mary Cassatt was able to use her brushstrokes in such a way as to soften and therefore make it more up to the viewer as to what their interpretation of the painting would be. I am also convinced this painting is speaking about women being caged because the woman is kept indoors and she is facing away from the forest with a beautiful view and the forest seems as if it keeps going on forever and that is all the opportunities this woman is missing because her back is turned from it all.

3.) The effect of this painting is that it makes the viewer think about the circumstances of the time in which the painting was painted and also questions the motives of the painter. For example, why did Mary Cassatt not just draw a pretty little wall in the foreground? Why did she instead have a window leading out to infinite possibilities?

4.) Therefore, I think that this painting is a showcasing of how women's life during Mary Cassatt's time period were almost suffocating. They had there one place as shown in the painting where all they did was look after a child and know that all those possibilities and opportunities to further their knowledge and skills (as shown by the window's view of the forest) were always out of reach. So why does this matter? It matters because it makes us think about women's places and if they are so strictly cemented in, for example, the home. Today still begs the question because women are still looked at as needed to stay in the home while the husband works. This relates to my idea about Cassatt portraying this idea of restricted opportunities women are faced with and how the mother in the picture is the symbol of that era that even is somewhat present in today's society.