All Prompts

Prompts

Week 1:

The inquiry that I chose to look at was the statement: I am a brother. By definition a brother is ‘a male offspring having both parents in common with another offspring; a male sibling’. Many people have brothers or are a brother to someone. My dad and my uncle are brothers and I am my younger sister’s brother. Depending on your view on the subject, you can either always be a brother or stop being a brother due to a sibling dying, disowned by family, etc. I personally think that you cannot stop being a brother because no matter what you will always have your siblings in your heart and mind.

An interesting aspect of being a brother has evolved with time, different upbringings, and pop culture. Throughout most early history, the word was only used to describe a male that was related to you by blood or through marriage. But in more recent times the word has begun to be used a slang term for a close friend not related by blood to you. Originating in the early 1900’s, the word was used by men to address other men that were not related to them by blood, but very close to them. The word was then used by many African American men from the 1970’s on. In the 2000’s, brother has been shortened to bro and has joined a large group of slang terms for a male friend, which includes dude, man, and buddy. A slate.com article states that: “Bro’s ascendance into the pop cultural pantheon was mostly due to lots of white kids trying to seem cool by emulating black slang.” (Malady). Brother has been used by many service men and athletes to describe others who are serving or on the team with them. In the Armed Forces, there are many times where the people in your squad or platoon become so close to you that you consider them your brothers. These people would put down their lives to protect their fellow servicemen. I see this as the closest bond you can form with someone who is not your actual brother. Many sports teams also consider fellow teammates their brothers. Professional football players frequently have referred to teammates as their brothers in different interviews or in conversation.

Brother has also seen its rise in many forms of pop culture. Famous pairs of brothers include Nintendo’s Mario and Luigi, Hank and Dean Venture from Adult Swim’s The Venture Bros., and John and Jim Harbaugh, who are both head football coaches for Baltimore Ravens and the University of Michigan respectively. The term bro has also been used to describe many different groups of people such as lacrosse bros or frat bros.

Bibliography

Malady, Matthew J.X. "The Ubiquity of Bro Tells Us That the Word May Not Be Popular for Long." N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.

Week 2:

There is not really a specific time where I have felt like an outsider but more like specific events. As cliche as it sounds, I feel like an outsider many times in the middle of a group of people. It started when I moved in the 3rd grade from Bayonne to Monmouth Beach, which are both in New Jersey but about an hour away from each other. I got there not knowing anyone which was intimidating even at that young of an age. School was terrible at first; everyone already had their group of friends since they had all been together since kindergarten. It took about 2 months of being by myself in lunch and recess and not making an conversation at all in class before I made friends of any sort which was not the worse thing in world. The intial shock of being an outsider really left a mark on me; I had never really experienced something like it.

I made friends during middle school and then graduated and went to a catholic high school in a different town. A few kids from my school also went but it was another situation where I felt very outside of everything. Walking down the bustling halls and seeing kids of all grades up against their lockers chatting with each other about how their weekend was or if there was a history test today. I made friends with a lot of different kids; there were the football players, the runners, the stoners, the nerds, and the weird kids, which was the group I felt most at home in. But even if I was in a group of my close friends hanging out on the weekend or sitting at lunch, there were times where I just felt like I did not fit in. The worst would be if someone would have a party or we all went to a party and I just did not feel like an insider. They would always drink and smoke and dance around like idiots to shitty dubstep. I did partake in these events and tried to have a good time but I felt like I should not be there with them.

It is a weird feeling that I cannot really describe. Like I feel like an outsider sitting with a table of friends at the Hans writing this right now. Everyone is laughing and talking and having a good time but I do not feel like I am complete with them. I think this is due to the fact that I have not really found where I fully belong yet. I love the friends I have now and I am not saying anything against them but I just do not feel like I am inside of any of the groups I associate myself with right now.

Week 3:

For my identity, I chose to talk about where I am from and how where you are from and grew up effects how you grow as a person. I chose to interview my friend Mahmoud, who is also a freshman at Drexel. He came to the United States two years ago from Syria. I thought that it would be the best idea to interview him because of the vastly different lifestyle he had.

Week 4:

Interview questions:

Where did you grow up?

I was born and grew up in the city of Aleppo. It is located in northern Syria and is one of the biggest cities in the country.

How was your early life?

During my early life, I went to school all the time. I tried to go as much as possible since the educational system was pretty good. I spent a lot of my free time playing soccer in the streets with my friends. There wasn’t much else to do but we kept ourselves entertained.

What was your home life like?

My dad worked, as a doctor, almost all the time so I did not really see him too often. My mom worked during the day so we would see her at night. My sister and I would wake up and go to school in the morning and then come home and get started on dinner. We would all eat as a family and then I would go and hang out with friends or study and then go to sleep.

What are some of the cultural differences?

Syria is a lot more family oriented. You lived with your family until you got married regardless of gender. Family would also come over for big dinners on the weekends and a lot of the time during the week when it was summer time. You would have dinner and then hang out and smoke hookah and relax.

What was the first impression of the US?

My first impression of the US was snow. I already knew a lot about the US but I got here in around February and it started to snow. It was just amazing to see something like that for the first time. It was cool to see all the different cultures that were here. My uncle brought me around Philly and showed me all the different restaurants and people. I also really liked the Wawa’s.

What do in us then couldn’t do in Syria?

Well for starters, I was able to freely talk to girls here. (laughs) There is more freedom here; you can go out and do basically what ever you would like within reason and not be worried about the consequences.

Did you know English before you came to the US?

I was already fluent in the language before I came here. I taught it to my self while I was still in Syria using a large deck of flash cards with the Arabic word one side and the English word on the other.

What did you think about the revolution?

That was actually one of the main reasons I came to America was to escape it. I was highly involved with the Syrian rebels. My father was killed because he was a doctor and the government did not like that. I actually have a scar from when a grenade exploded near me and I got hit by shrapnel. Even though I am not there now, I have been making speeches and giving presentations raising awareness about the cause.

Week 4:

Works Cited

1. Van Schaick, Laura Anne. "Predicting Resilience and Psychological Well-being in Early Adulthood: The Role of Religion in Childhood and Adolescence." Order No. 3415678 St. John's University (New York), 2010. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

I could not find anything on the author other than that she is a doctor and lives in Long Island.

This article talks about the significance and effects of children growing up in a religious household and how it affects them in their young adult and adult lives. It surveys a group of people from different religions and how they associated themselves with said religions later in their lives.

2. Ginocchio, John. "Music Style Preference: A Ranking of Musical Styles and Comparison by Age; Gender; Ethnicity; Music Training; and Rural, Suburban, Or Urban Upbringing." Order No. 3209429 Ball State University, 2006. Ann Arbor:ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

This article talked about how different music styles in addition to your gender, and race differed based on where you lived. The article goes in-depth on how music can affect a person and how where you lived affected which styles of music you listened to. A study was done with 5^th grade students and students in college to see which genre of music they preferred based on where they lived, age, ethnicity, and gender.

3. DeRoche, Jason. "Shaping the Youth: Aristotle on the Education of Desire and Emotion." Order No. MR83164 Carleton University (Canada), 2011. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

This article talked about Aristotle had the idea that if a youth was well brought up that they had refined tastes and pleasures. DeRoche talks about how a good upbringing results in refined pleasures, which includes cognitive and appetitive pleasures.

Week 6:

You ride down the empty streets on a beat up skateboard. The watch on your wrist reads 2:35 A.M. Work starts in less then 6 hours but it did not really matter to you. It was a good way to go out and clear your head. It was a warm night and you feel the cool ocean breeze on your face. Swerving into the right lane and then to the left and back again almost effortlessly. A car will pass every so often and give you a weird look but you shake it off; they are out driving around in the middle of the night on a Tuesday too. I do not know how many nights that this happened because the ride would feel like it went on forever.

/

You and your friends pull up to a house. Music is blaring from the backyard that could be heard from the street. You get out and start walking up the driveway and open the gate into the back. As you are doing the familiar rounds of “hellos and how have you been” you pick up a beer or two. People are talking, playing beer pong, trying to make attempts to flirt; the usual at these parties. Time flies and before you know it, it is 1 AM. Many have left either by cab or through the forever-reliable DD. As you work your way inside for the night, you try and find the most comfortable couch you can try and grab then proceed to pass out on.

/

It is only 9 AM and you already have customers yelling at you for no reason. You work at the beach taking parking tickets and selling daily badges. There are long 8-hour days, 5-day work weeks, but hey its good money despite the insanity that is faced. The customer does not want to pay the $7 to get into the beach because “everywhere else the beaches are free!” Well tough shit, welcome to New Jersey. As the fighting continues, they want to talk to your manager and you say profanity-riddled comments and continue on with other customers. Your manager tells you to go home early that day.

/

The beach was always a great place to be. No matter whom you are there with or when you are there, it will be fun. You always try to get there with friends on days off to hangout and play catch or go surf for a bit. Or you can go with you parents and just take a day and relax and crack open a good book. It is someplace you know you can go to relax; just the sound of the waves crashing against the sand and the cool breeze in your face. It is a place to think, for ideas to thrive and to find an inner peace.

/

You are sitting in a Sonic parking lot enjoying a milkshake with two of your friends just talking about nothing.

“What do you think is going to happen when we go to college?” one asks.

“Well I am going to drink a lot and join a frat.” The other adds.

But that is when you chime in. “Things are going to be different. No matter what you are going to change at college. But it is up to you how much you want to. Just be who you are and if that means changing then so be it. I just hope we don’t lose the you we have come to grow and love.”

You all laugh and then head off.

But in the end, we lost him.

Week 7:

Intro

Talked about how where you are from can affect how you grow up

Experiences you have are specific to where you live and grow up

Home life and location impact adult behavior

Paragraph 1

Explained my personal upbringing and how I thought it impacted how I grew up

Where I lived, how home life was like, different activities I did (Boy Scouts, work, etc.)

Talked about how my parents made me do things that ended up having good impacts on my life

Paragraph 2

Talked about the interview with Mahmoud

Explained his upbringing in Syria and how it differed from mine

Also how although, we lived on opposite sides of the world, we became best friends while ar Drexel

Paragraph 3

Explored other things that play a role in upbringing

Pop culture, including music and celebrities, can affect how kids act

Religion can largely affect how a person is brought up depending on whether it is good or bad

Conclusion

A good upbringing will create good adults

Every situation is different and will give you a different outlook on life

I believe that I have a solid start to my paper. In comments that I have received, everyone said that they thought it was a good idea. But many agreed that when I reached my 3rd paragraph, it seemed out of place and did not make much sense with the rest of the paper. So I decided to fix this by conducting another interview with my friend Justin. Justin lived in Papua New Guinea for much of his younger life because his parents are religious missionaries. He comes from an extremely religious household with 5 other siblings. This would fit well with my idea of talking about how religion affects upbringing and because he lived on the opposite side of the world, just like Mahmoud. I am probably going to do more research on religion in the household after I conduct the interview to then develop a new paragraph.

Week 9:

Due to a lot of comments on how my paper seemed to go on a complete opposite tangent towards the end, I decided to conduct another interview. This time I chose Justin McCarthy, who grew up in Papua New Guinea. His parents are both Christian missionaries so they lived there for about 10 years preaching and worker for the church.

Interview questions:

Where did you grow up?

I lived primarily in Papua New Guinea, specifically the Eastern Highlands Province. I lived on an island called New Ireland. We also moved to Australia for some amount of time and lived in the US for about 6 months when I was around 8.

How was your early life?

I always spent time outside; ever since I was a kid I have been a fan of the outdoors and living in New Guinea there was a lot to do. We would either go exploring in the local jungle or head to the beaches and go swimming and snorkeling. I would also go to school and everything so my friends and I would also play sports but we moved around a lot so there were times where I would not see them for a few months to a year which was hard.

What was your home life like?

Parents are super religious because missionaries. Religion was a big part of my upbringing and they were very strict with me growing up. We always said grace and went to church a lot and did most of the normal religious stuff. It had a fairly negative effect on me later in life, it was not like bad but I am not religious anymore really. I have a big family too, 5 siblings including myself.

What are some of the cultural differences?

One big difference that always stuck out with me was that in New Guinea, women always wore skirts in public and that was really it. You did not really see any of them in pants or anything. There were also people who still lived off the land in villages that were outside of the villages in the jungle. I would go with my parents sometimes when they visited to do missionary things. Coconuts are also one of the biggest things that drive the economy there.

What was the first impression of the US?

The first time I came here besides when I was born was when I was in the 2nd grade. I stayed here for about a year. It was a different experience all together but I do not remember really not liking it or anything. When I came back later in life at 15, I really did not like it here. I am not the biggest fan of how things are run and I just miss some of the things from New Guinea.