FYE Seminar
August 13, 2013
This I believe is book full of amazing essays. It took me a few times to read a few of them to truly understand them. Once you understand what the writer is trying to tell you, it is truly an amazing essay. They all are. To read a piece written by a famous person so well known, someone I have heard one once or twice, or maybe never heard of at all, and to see and understand a part of them is great. These essays have so much put into them that no one would ever realize unless you sit there and think. I read each and every essay in the “This I Believe” book and put myself in the position of trying to write a piece as they did, or what they had to of been through in life and got to experience in order to write what they did. This book made me feel as if I were surrounded by each and every author, as if I were in there shoes. “This I believe” has taught me so much and made me open up more about myself. The three essays I chose to write about are “A Journey toward Acceptance and Love” by Greg Chapman, “The Power and Mystery of Naming Things” by Eve Ensler, and “Growth That Starts from Thinking” by Eleanor Roosevelt. Each of these essays somehow resemble a part of me or my life.
The essay “The Journey toward Acceptance and Love” meant a lot to me and reminded me a lot of myself. In the first paragraph he talks about how he was raised and what he was taught, thinking back to when I was younger, I was raised the same way. I was taught that black and white didn’t go together, the way I thought and felt was wrong. As with him, as I got older and even as a younger child, I never found myself being interested or in guys, I was always looking at the girls. All throughout middle school I was made fun of by people who told me I was too scared to come out of the closet. My family, mom and dad, sister, aunts and uncles, they always looked against it and told me what I was thinking, what I liked and what made me happy was wrong. My freshmen year I finally came out and told me people I was a Lesbian. I was proud of it and didn’t feel like I was doing anything wrong. Everyone is their own person and they are who they are. I will not ever allow myself to feel as if I can’t be myself because of someone. They aren’t me, I make my decisions and they make theirs.
So many times I find myself trying and looking for ways and words to name anything and everything around me. Everything I see, everything I hear, and everything I experience. Much like the essay, “The Power and Mystery of Naming Things”. So many things happen that need to be known, that need to be named and spoke of, and experiences you go through don’t always just hurt you or make you happy. They don’t only affect you, it affects you, your family, your friends, and sometimes your community. You should never be afraid to speak up and say what you need to say however you can find a way to get it out. If you find a way to speak of it and tell of your experience, whether it is good or bad, that is all that matters.
Growing up in a religious family will make you or breaks you. The beliefs you have and the things that religion and family can make and let happen is so much more than words can explain. This type of life makes you think and wonder