Malcolm X

I've found it difficult to read this book and I believe it is because I am so engrained in Dr. King's teachings that to accept anything of the contrary is hard. I so far don't agree with what Malcolm is saying. When reading his background I couldn't understand why he was so against whites when he had special treatment from his father for being light skinned. I understand that his father was believed to be killed by white supremists but at the same time I believe that not all white people were inherently evil. I think that some generations simply followed in what their parents taught them. People are not born racist they are made racist whether it be by their environment or by what they are told. Malcolm got involved in a bad lifestyle and blamed all his misfortunes on white people saying that they made the ghettos but I do not believe that that is true. I think that Malcolm holds a lot of pent up aggression and I don't believe that it is all justified.
A problem I have always had with activists like Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, or Dr. King is that I never understood what gave them the right to define a black person. What gave them the right to tell blacks how to live their lives? This is not a sign of disrespect or criticism on them. I personally have never been a follower and for me to have to listen to someone telling me to go back to Africa or fight nonviolent isn't something that I'm going to eagerly do because I don't understand what entitles them to say these things.

Is King still king?

I think that in today's society Dr. King isn't being talked about as much anymore. I think that most African Americans take for granted the freedom that they have now and do not realize the sacrifices that he made for us. We treat the Monday we have off as just a free day from school and not the day we are supposed to honor him. For our grandparents Dr. King was a martyr for his people and most of us aren't even sure of the facts of his life and his actions while he was living. I think that we should devote at least one week in our history classes to studying in detail his life and activism.

Music Review

The song that I will be reviewing is Fingerprints by Katy Perry. The first time I heard this song was on the way to my eighth grade graduation and I immediately put the song on repeat. I realized that the eight years I spent at that school did not impact the school. I would just be another student. I decided that when I got to high school I wanted to be known by something that I had done. I wanted everyone in the school to remember me and know that I had impacted the lives of every single person there. But when I got to Whitney young I realized that that was almost impossible. Now at my senior year I see that I haven't reached that goal. But I have done something else. Impacted the lives of those closest to me.

Solitude

I have never had the opportunity to enjoy pure solitude. I live in a house with 7 other people: my grandma, aunt, cousin, two brothers and my parents. Not to mention our dog. Any silence in my house is very rare and very brief. I have my own room, but with a lock that my 8 year old brother can open in two seconds it's safe to say that I have no privacy either. With my grandmother being home almost 100% of the time I never have a moment of peace. In my house doing anything that involves focusing is hard. I can only focus and do homework in school in the library where it is quiet. As I'm writing this now all I hear is my grandmother yelling, as usual.

Imagining what I would do with even a couple of hours of solitude is hard to say. I would probably focus on my writing. I never have the time or space to actually sit down and write so I think if I was able to get away from everything and focus for a while would be great.

Or maybe I would work on editing my photos since I have gotten behind on them since school has started. With my schedule and course load I don't even have time to sleep. Right now would be the perfect time to have a weekend when I can just relax and work on what's important to me in peace.

I know this means something...

Music. Possibily the most real and important thing in my life. When life is too difficult and stressful I am able to turn on my Ipod and drown out all of that. Music has been able to help me through the toughest times and motivate me. I am also able to use music as a good study mechanism because it I listen to my Ipod as I read or look over my notes then I am able to think about that song and cross supply the notes that I were reading as I did it.
I found it interesting in class when we discussed how some people do not consider music as important although it is all around us. I think that EVERY person in their life has listened to music at one time or another and genuinely appreciated it. I love the fact that there are songs and genres of music that can speak to every person.
Some of my favorite quotes about music:
When words fail, music speaks
--Anonymous

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. --Plato

I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water. --Ray Charles

A direction the class needs

I think that the class is going well so far. I think that in our class we have a couple of primary people that always comments on the discussion while others typically do not talk unless they are called on or really had something to say (me being one of those people). I consider myself to be more of a listener and everyday I leave the class feeling as though I have learned something new and insightful. As a senior in school I am more concerned with simply graduating than other classes, but everyday I look forward to coming to philosophy class and learning new concepts and ways of thinking. I have met and learned so much about people that I never would have met outside of this class.

Thankful for a Classmate

A classmate that I am thankful for would have to be Artem. I am thankful for him because in this class I have been able to learn several new concepts and ways of thinking from him. Through him I have discovered several characteristics that I have never seen in one person. I have found someone that is truly against the system and current world that we live in and for that I am truly in awe. I have gotten to see a personality that I would have never seen had I not taken this class and therefore I am grateful for this class and all of my fellow peers.