After the icebreaker, we took turns in which each team member would talk about personal experiences that shaped them to be the people they are today, goals for this class and for the future, and personal values. And for each members turn, the other members asked questions to get to know them more.
Beverly got married at the young age of 18. The fact that she had to focus on supporting her children at a young age would certainly shape her as a person. She was married for 14 years and has 3 children. She has been going to the Jr. college part-time for about 25 years but recently made the move to the university because it’s too hard to find a job with a bachelor’s degree anymore. She aims to get a straight A’s. Her life goals are mostly for her kids; to see graduate from college, for them to afford to have families and to be the best they can be. Her own goal for herself is to get her bachelor’s degree and just afford to live. Beverly takes her values from her religion, which is Christianity. She thinks the most important things in life are to know and love God and to love a...
Roxanne faces a relationship crisis with her fiance since he wants to receive a scholarship and play college ball in another city. Roxanne had no past experience and Roberta suggests her to “try not to get too worked up about [the issue] … [because] [she] [will] get it straightened out” (32) eventually. Roberta enlightens Roxanne about the uncertainty in life and that one should make their own decisions. Thus, Roxanne also gains from Roberta’s advice.
Kathy Harrison starts her personal story happily married to her childhood sweet heart Bruce. Kathy was living a simple life in her rural Massachusetts community home as the loving mother of three smart, kind, well-adjusted boys Bruce Jr., Nathan, and Ben. With the natural transitions of family life and the changes that come with career and moving, she went back to work as a Head Start teacher. Her life up until the acceptance of that job had been sheltered an idyllic. Interacting in a world of potluck suppers, cocktail parties, and traditional families had nothing in common with the life she would choose after she became a Head Start teacher.
Katie’s teacher, Mr. Dubey, puts a very high emphasis on the students at Katie’s school about how important school is. Because Katie starts to feel bad for using David to get into Harvard, his attitude toward the topic changes and he tells that she should be self-serving and not really care what people say and to not "ruin the rest of your life just because you feel a little guilty right now"(74). All of these conflicting messages on what Katie should be like, how she should treat others an...
...courage to survive in the world. On the other hand, her portrayal of marriage and the black family appears to be negative. Marriage is seen as a convenient thing—as something that is expected, but not worth having when times get rough. At least this is what Lutie’s and Jim’s marriage became. The moral attributes that go along with marriage do not seem to be prevalent. As a result, because marriage and the black family are seen as the core of the black community, blacks become more divided and begin to work against themselves—reinforcing among themselves the white male supremacy. Instead of being oppressed by another race or community, blacks oppress themselves. Petry critiques these issues in the black community and makes them more applicable to our lives today. These issues still exist, but we fail to realize them because of our advancement in society today.
The majority of families were once considered perfect. The father went to work everyday, while the mother stayed at home and cared for her two children, “Henry” and “Sue”. The children never fought and the parents were involved in all the community events. Our society has grown to accept that there is no such thing as a perfect family. Eleven-year-old Ellen from the book Ellen Foster, by Kaye Gibbons, grows up in a household where her father is an abusive alcoholic and her mother is too sick to complete everyday tasks. By using her positive assets, and learning from her negative assets, Ellen was able to overcome a lot of challenges throughout the book.
This was not lost on Heather because she views her family as an expression of herself. Also, at this phase people Erikson’s theory on generativity vs stagnation is important because midlife adults want to share with their knowledge and skills with those younger (McAdams, 2014). In addition, during this phase middle adults want to utilize their personal strengths to better their society (Wojciechowska, 2011). This developmental stage was especially hard for Heather.
uses to compare her family?s regard for her duties as a wife and mother to school grades. The
Porcha Petteway was an African American female and devoted Christian with many accomplishments in her lifetime. An autobiography has been written detailing what life was like for her with an emphasis in her senior years. It is the year 2084 and Porcha Petteway has passed away at the age of 100. Up until the day she passed Porcha was married to her husband for 73 years. They had two children together both girls. The life event of marriage allowed her to obtain many financial resources than those of the single population. Being married allowed Porcha to participate in private pension plans due to their lifetime income being combined and much higher than usual. She was able to live a life full of greater satisfaction as an advantage of being married. As Porcha entered old age her family structure remained rich, certain, close and tight knit. She had an unp...
...weather or notl their children succeed. Anna's story has another example of this when she says she would get in trouble for kissing a guy, although she does have premarital sex, she says she doesnt like it, doesnt like her boyfriend and feels dirty afterwards. I think this is because she was brought up thinking it was wrong and will always believe that. Lisa's mother has been divorced 3 times and then Lisa's boyfriend cheats on her and she stays with him, they talk about marraige like its nothing. I think this is because she saw her mother do ti so many times it just seemed normal like it was no big deal. Her mother did however stress school was important and Lisa has never missed a day of school and goes on to attend college.
Mama who is also known as Lena Younger, tries to get her family to live a better future financially as well as a steady fulfilled lifestyle. The money expected for the Youngers brings a great deal of trust issues and thought to see what is best for the family. That is to say, everyone in the Younger’s family give their personal beliefs in what should be done with the large amount of money. Mama; however, decides it would be best to use her husband’s money to invest in a comfortable home where every family member will have space to live in under the same roof. A place where they wouldn’t have to share a bedroom and bathroom with everyone like they have been in the apartment they have been living in for the past time. This woman desires to see her grandchildren have enough play area outdoors so they can invest most of their time in the dirt and provide a well formed garden. The thought of a better future for her grandson motivates Ms. Lena. She is willing to create an image that her family would not been able to see before her and be able to learn to grow together as a family that they
When people think of the American Dream, they usually picture a wealthy family who lives in a big house with a white picket fence. They see the husband being the breadwinner for the wife and kids, by supporting and providing the best way that he can. They also picture the wife catering to her husband 's every need. The protagonist Janie Crawford lives this American Dream but soon comes to a realization that this life isn’t her destiny. Crawford learns that love does not involve money but rather being joyful. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie breaks the American Dream myth by living a non-traditional life through belief, happiness, and freedom.
...promising dreams, relationships often fall apart under strain from unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, imprisonment, conflict and betrayal. Finally, we get to the heart of what marriage means to these mothers and why they say that successfully raising children is the most important job they will ever have. Almost all of the women said things like “It’s only because my children that I am where I am today.”
The change in a social class is something that is shown in every day life and the media. It is the American Dream to move upward in society. The movie Sweet Home Alabama is a prime example of social mobility in the main character. The main character Melanie Carmichael left her small town Alabama home and achieved an impressive upward social mobility. She began her life as a daughter of a respectful working class family to become a world famous fashion designer in New York City. At the beginning of the movie, Andrew, the mayor’s son, proposes to Melanie. She says yes, but before she can marry him, she has to clear up a not so final divorce with Jake, her high school sweetheart she left behind. Melanie is now caught between two classes and two cultures, the working class that she grew up in and the upper class she has now placed herself in. As the film continues, her dilemma will require her to acknowledge and reconnect with her mother who lives in a trailer park while still trying to impress h...
I interviewed my grandmother, father and mother for this project. It was very interesting to uncover many of the stories and values that I was unaware of throughout my life. My father’s mother is currently 91 years old and offered a difficult interview by giving me too many stories to analyze for this project. She grew up in the Midwest and moved throughout several states as a child. Her parents separated when she was 8 years old leaving her mother to raise her independently. They settled in Missouri at a religious community called Unity Farm. Her mother taught school while raising my Grandmother. The value of educatio...
She believed that the society of your childhood is gone. The ability to adapt is the key to being successful. However, the changing economy, changing attitudes and expectations toward lifestyle, and longer life expectancy are redefining this generation's approach to age and retirement. Retiring baby boomers are creating a need for workers to fill jobs, many of which require specialized skill sets. This may create a need to retain older workers and delay their retirement, or to find workers from other countries. This can cause some other mental health issues as the baby boomers are of reaching age they need to take it easy on the body, such as working hard on the job can lead to substance abuse and alcoholism problems to reduce stress and depression. But there is also other factors that slows down change such as wealth to change, poverty, traditional and cultural values and norms of society. Some baby boomers don't have enough income for themselves to retire peacefully. Retirement is only a luxury for those who can afford it. Retirement could also mean loss of your identity, having free time, but time with no commitments, something waited for all citizens working life but not happy. With money being the issue for some can cause stress. The millennial generation people who were born in will also be facing issues too major events