Activity 3 - "Ethnicity"

My ethnicity is not too complicated, but it is very important to me, nonetheless. I am mainly Irish (about half) and the rest is divided between German and Dutch. On my dad’s side, everyone is Irish and we are very proud of this. On my mom’s side, we are mainly Dutch and are also quite proud of it. Both of these ethnicities show through in my family and are a huge part of my life.

My ethnicity really influences who I am. My cousin (on my dad’s side) and I are very close. We are two years apart in age and only have 3 cousins beside ourselves. This summer she is getting married and has decided to incorporate her Irish heritage in her wedding a lot. This has really made me focus more on my ethnicity. We have been doing a lot more research on Irish traditions and Irish weddings and it makes me proud to say that I am Irish and I am from Ireland. It has been interesting to learn more and has made me want to keep going.

The summer before my senior year of high school, I had the rare opportunity to go to Europe. While I was there, I spent quite some time in Ireland. It was so fantastic to really be able to experience this culture because it is such a big part of me. It was nice to learn more about it and actually experience what it was like for my ancestors and what it is really like there. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and would like to return again soon to experience it again.

I do not think that many people know about my ethnicity. It is not something that shows through daily because it is a hard topic to bring up. I don’t go around and flaunt it or show it off. All that matters is that I am proud of myself and proud of who I am. If someone were to ask me what my ethnicity was, I would be more than happy to discuss it with them and would be excited to share how I feel about it with them, but it is not something that I would just toss out there in casual conversation.

Overall, I am very proud of my heritage. I like being Irish and I like being Dutch and I like being German. Although I am more familiar with my Irish side, I am proud of the others and would hope that others would be look at it the same way I do. I would be extremely offended if someone were to say something negative about my ethnicity, since it is so extremely important to me, but I do not think that happens as much today as it did in the past.

Have you ever had any experiences in which your ethnicity negatively affected you?

Activity 2 - "Observing In Public"

For our second activity, we were supposed to go to a public place that we do not go to regularly and observe people. This was difficult for me since I am living back home for the summer in the town that I have lived since I was only a few months old. Most public places I have visited regularly or am not allowed into (such as a bar). I tried to put myself in a position I would not normally be seen in so I went to a grocery store. I do stop here every now and then, but usually only stop to grab something quick and head out the door. Tonight I decided to spend some time browsing and doing some grocery shopping.

Tonight, I observed how other people act in general and how they act while they are alone or while they are with other people. Most shoppers in a grocery store at 8:00 at night are by themselves. Rarely do you get a family or a couple, it was mostly just someone grabbing a gallon of milk or getting themselves a quick dinner, not very many people doing serious shopping.

The “rule of thumb” so to say here was to keep to yourself. Most of the people I observed tonight would avoid others as much as possible. They would go down opposite aisles or walk on the other side of the aisle to keep their distance. If they were forced to pass one another, they would either avoid eye contact all together or quickly glance up and glance away. Staring in this case seemed inappropriate. There are a few people who would walk by and politely smile or gesture somehow that they are acknowledging your presence, but most people were in a hurry just trying to find what they needed and leave.

“Forbidden behaviors” were somewhat difficult to imagine in this case, since it rarely, if ever, happens. What I would imagine to be unusual behavior would be to walk by and say hello to everyone passing you, or to walk right next to someone, or stare at them as you walk by. If this were to happen, I think most people would be kind of creeped out by them. I know if I were in this case, if a random person came up to me and started up a conversation, I would be questioning their motives. I would probably think they were trying to steal something. It is quite difficult to imagine this happening since it really does not occur.

If forbidden behaviors were not real and did not exist, I think the world would honestly be a better place. I think that everyone would be a lot friendlier and a lot more trusting. If I could walk up to a random person and strike up a conversation, I think grocery shopping would be a lot more interesting and easy. I think everyone would have each other’s backs and there would be less crime overall because nobody would be scared of one another and everyone would feel guilty of doing wrong.

Overall, this activity was very interesting to me. I enjoy “people watching” and am very interested in behaviors that other’s engage in. I think it is interesting how people react to one another and how they treat one another. I wish we did not have “forbidden rules” in today’s society, but it is just one of those things that make the world how it is.

Do you think there is any way to get rid of these “forbidden behaviors?” Do you think there is a reason for them?

Activity 1 - "Far and Away"

Far And Away is a film about two Irish people who immigrated to America in the late 1800s. They both came from different backgrounds and different social classes, but had similar issues occur when they arrived in America. Joseph lived in a small town and when his father passed and his property was destroyed he went to find and kill who did this to him. While searching, he met Shannon, an upperclass young adult who wanted to go to America to own her own piece of land. Together they hopped on a boat and went across only to find that America wasn’t all they thought it would be.

The immigrant experience for these two individuals was a very difficult process. Shannon found a flyer that said everyone who went to America would automatically receive their own piece of land. Once they got there however, they found that this was not as easy as it seemed. They were looked at as being poor and “dirty” because of their heritage and social level. Even though Shannon was upper class in Ireland, she was not necessarily upper class in America. Both Shannon and Joseph had to work their way to the top. They both faced extreme living conditions, often going days without food and shelter and came quite close to death in a couple experiences.

Eventually, both Shannon and Joseph found that in order to get land, they needed to go to Oklahoma. They were practically giving out land in the Oklahoma Territory; all you had to do was compete in a race to claim their area. Everyone went off and after a struggle, Shannon and Joseph eventually fell in love and claimed a piece of land together.

Overall, the immigration process was extremely difficult for these two individuals. I am not sure how completely accurate or how common this was at that particular time period, but I feel that this movie was a pretty truthful example of what it was really like. Trying to live in America was extremely difficult for them. Like I stated earlier, even though you could have been considered “high class” in Ireland, you could easily be treated like scum in America. In America at this time, in order to be upper class you had to have money, otherwise, you were nothing. Shannon really struggled with this change because she was high class in Ireland. She lived in a giant house and owned horses and pretty much had everything handed to her. She wasn’t used to having to work for a living or being looked down upon. Joseph was never high class, but he wasn’t used to not having a home or food. He always had what he needed and never “struggled” to make ends meet. He never had to work like he did or box to make money, he always had enough to get by.

Far And Away is a film that has a very clear window into what it was like to immigrate in the late 1800s. Looking through Shannon and Joseph’s eyes made it very easy to see that emigrating from Ireland to America wasn’t all that it seemed like it would be and was really quite a difficult process. They both struggled immensely and really had a challenging transition into this whole new world. Eventually, they made it and succeeded, but it was a good look at what it was like to go through this experience.

What do you think it would be like to immigrate from Ireland to America today? Do you think it would be the same to immigrate from American to Ireland in the 1800's, the opposite of what Shannon and Joseph did then?

Two Truths And A Lie

Guess which one is the lie!

1. I work at Lowe's.

2. I love the color purple.

3. I drive a GMC Jimmy.