​Preview: You are going to hear a story  from to someone who migrated from one area to another and how she had to adjust to life in their new environment.

Reflection:

I believe crossing boundaries generally have to do with two situations one is to better your life or the life of others and the other is to break a norm because you don’t that it fits with ones personal morals. For example moving to America was a way for Kristi’s dad to better his family’s life with the new job opportunities he could obtain in the United States. I found this project to be very fun and creative because we all got to research are own diverse subjects and explore as journalist. This made it more engaging to me because I had the ability to not make it boring. Also during the videos I learned a lot about the different and cultures in Germany and Albania. But I found that editing and creating a podcast extremely hard because some times you cant get the volume or the correct deletion of bites to fit correctly.

 

Strengths: Good Questions, Made it seem like a real radio/podcast, Volume lacked background noise for the most part.

Weakness: Choppy Editing

My name is Tyanna Pleasant and today, we will discuss why my sister, Dabreyah Pleasant, chose to like a person of the same sex, what she classifies herself as and why, and why my older brother, Talib Bailey, does not approve of her decision. 

While doing this project, I learned that crossing boundaries is when a person steps out of their comfort zone or when they make decisions that other do not approve of. My sister crossed boundaries when she decided to stay with her girlfriend even after some of the people in my family does not approve of it. She is doing what she truly believes. I think that in order to cross a boundary you have to do it because its what you want for yourself. Doing these interviews made me realize that my brother and sister are two totally different people, and they have different opinions. The fact that my brother does not like that our sister is dating someone the same sex as her bothers him. he does not understand why she wants this for herself. My sister on the other hand knows what she wants, which is Lynnae, her girlfriend. My strengths of this pod cast are having an interesting story. Also having my interviewees elaborate on their responses. A weakness may be trying to make my podcast longer. Also try adjusting the background music so that it all is at an equal level of quality.

 

This interview is about a man overcoming an obstacle, and being something he never imagined he would be

For me doing this interview was a great learning experience. I believe that with anybody when you do an interview like I did it should always be a learning experience. For me I knew some of the boundaries that my father had to cross but I did not know them in depth. This interview made me more knowledgeable about my father and what he went through. This also taught me more about the relationship my mother and father have. That through this time in his life she was pretty much the backbone for him. My father showed me how much more responsible he is now because of what he went through and that he is truly a better man because of this. My life would be totally different if my father was still in his addiction. The lives of my brothers and sisters would be different if my father had not made this change in his lifestyle. Him going back to church and going back to school is a lesson for everyone. He is a prime example that no matter where you come from or who you used to be that you can accomplish any and everything that you might want to. 

Preview: My father dropping out of school when he was in the third grade, and he made it in the world with the little bit of knowledge that has.

The experience of doing interviews – what did you learn and discover, about others or yourself?
Through out this experience of interviews I learned that people know what they want to say but have a hard time saying it. I also learned that people have stories that are kept untold and they personally should be told. I discovered that doing an interview takes time and patience; you can't expect to get all of the stuff and the things that you need all at one time. Hearing other people's interviews made me realize that there are some things that I can do better with mines. Also, that music does indeed have an impact how your interview grabs attention.

Comments from your peers – agree or disagree, and why?
I agree with what they said because what they said was productive. Basically they both told me that I should add music and relate it to the interview itself. If it wasn't for them telling me to add the music I don't think I would like my finishing product as much as I do.

Your own strengths or weaknesses
My own strengths in my project were the questions that I asked my mother, I asked her questions that she would know about her husband, because my dad can not speak the best English my mother had to be his translator. Also, I like the background the music, and the way it all flowed together, I chose “Successful” by Drake because it reminds me of the whole theme of my interview. The main weakness in my project is the volume, I was it was a little louder.

 

My father crossed boundaries when he did not near complete school but he made someone of himself, and I am proud to say that he is my father.

Have you ever dared to be different than the people around you? This is a story about my mother and her leap away from her family's tradition. 


Reflection: 

   In my opinion crossing boundaries means to leave something from your past behind with the potential to strengthen your present life. I think that crossing boundaries can either be a good or a bad thing. It can be good because if it works it could make your life fuller and richer, but if it doesn’t it could make your life miserable. You could possibly lose everything if you make a decision to cross a boundary and it doesn’t work out for you. However sometimes even if you think something is not working out, you are learning at the same time and can grow from the experience. Crossing any boundary and doing things outside of your familiar norm is taking a chance but it could be a fantastic chance to try new things.

    While doing the interview with my mother I learned that I actually have a lot more freedom with my life than I thought I had before. That was a very liberating concept, but also a scary one, as it opens up a lot of choices for my future. The fact that her parents didn’t understand what she was doing and she kept persevering gave me inspiration for possibilities in my life.

 The hardest part of this assignment was keeping track of which part of the interview was already done, because it is not like a paper where it is all right in front of you. I agree with all of the comments from my peers because I know that sometimes the music overpowers the voices. During this project I realized that once I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy to edit audio in garage band, it just took longer than expected. 

​

 

Zaria Fortson-Linton

The Black White Girl

One summer day, I decided to hang out with some of my friends ad we were talking about many different topis. The topic at the moment was about what we were afraid of. When it came to my turn to admit it, the conversation went from being good, to me being bashed.

“I am so petrified of squirrels! Just there presences is enough to making me sprint away from them in fear!”

My friend then responded saying:

“Why you always speakin’ wit that proper voice & those big words? Its like you tryna make everyone look stupid.”

“I am not! I just can’t help it. It is something I’m so use to doing.”

“Whateva! Tryna act white!”

 

This is the typical conversation I have with my peers. Most sixteen year olds my age like to use as much slang as they can. They tend to cut off certain letters and make abbreviations in texts. Since I don’t like to use them, I come off as a “Miss Know-It-All”, stuck up, or even white. Being known as a know it all or stuck up doesn’t bother me as much. The one that bothers me the most is being told that I sound white. For one, I can’t seem to comprehend how race has a language. I also didn’t know that using higher-level words that I am taught in school gives off the impression that I’m trying to be someone who I am not.

 

The worst part about this is that it isn’t just my friends who think this. Even my family views me this way. When I mean family, I mean cousins and aunts and uncles. You see, my mother, step-father, sister, brother, cousin and grandmother all live together, and we all use what people consider “White people talk.” Not only that, because we get really good grades and it’s been that way since kindergarten, that also gives them a reason to classify us as know it alls. I’m not saying that we are stuck up, but I feel as though this generalization is unfair. I feel like judging someone before you even get to know them, or judging them because you were taught differently then they are is wrong and unfair.

In the passage “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” by James Baldwin, he says, “…that language is also a political instrument, means and proof power. It is the most vivid and crucial key to identity: It reveals the private identity, and connects one with, or divorces one from, the larger, public or communal identity.“ 

This quote is something of which I disagree with. Basing the way someone talks is one of the worst ways of trying to get to know and better understand someone. Judging someone before you get to know this is terrible.         

Octavius Collins

Do I sound Familiar?

 

“ I had a dream like Martin Luther lil bit of hope. Say if Rosa never at, and Malcolm never spoke. Prolly catch me the woods hanging from a rope.”

 

“ Damn Tav who said that?

“Meek Mill.”

“You listen to him?” My friend says in a cautious voice.

“Yea, that’s my boy. (Finishes lyrics)

 

            Whenever I’m with my friends I tend to speak with a lot of slang. Half the time I don’t complete my words, substitute correct words for slang words and I do a lot of cussing. I speak in a way that defines myself, but I change up when necessary. I think of myself as a “slang slinger.” Sometimes I even talk to my teachers in slang. Trying to teach them something new. I know how to use proper English, & I’ve never been told I say certain things or that I have a problem with my pronunciation.

           

From my mother’s prospective I talk like “ an angry black teen.” To myself, in a way that identifies myself as a young black teen. My language reflects my childhood. I use words with my friend’s just express a certain feeling or meaning during the conversation. I’m not just full of profanity and slang, like I said I was taught to use proper language, I just chose when it’s appropriate and when I should use it.            

           

I had a job interview during my freshman year for The Franklin Institute. I manage myself well I as greeted everyone in the room with a “Hello” or “Good Evening.” Questions like:

“Why would you be a good explainer for the PACTS program? What changes could you positively bring to the PACTS program if given this job opportunity? Who do you look up to in the PACTS program and will you step up and take someone else under your wing when you’re apprentice leaves?”

I answered every question, brought up by my fellow explainers, in complete sentences. An individual from the group of explainers and supervisors pulled me to the side and went on about how impressed he was, as a peer of minds, to as how I handle myself in the interview room. He admitted that he didn’t think I had the type of language in me considering the fact that he spent 4 years of his life with me outside of supervision or adults.            

        I’ve learned when and when not to use slang and proper language as I’ve grown up. There has been a time when I was young and I’ve walked up to an older adult such as my grandmother and said

“ wassup.”

“Don’t ever talk to your grandmother like that again!”

That was similar to the response I was given from my mom. 

From the moment on slang coming out of my mouth was only used around my friends but as I got older if I was to use slang around my mom it was I who was joking, playing around. My 8^th grade year was when I learned how and when to use proper English. I had to get ready for upcoming interviews so my mom began prepping me. I learned to sit up right when I answered questions. I learned to answer questions in complete sentences, and to keep a positive mindset throughout the whole interview. The more practice I received with and from my mom I by the date of my 8^th  grade interviews I was superfluous. Walked in greeted the interviewees with firm handshakes, and continued on with conversations that started like, 

"How are you today?"
"I'm fine yourself?"
"I'm excellent, lets began this interview."
"Okay."

"What made you apply to our school?"
"I applied after reading a brief overview about your school, and then further during research about the school to see if I'd be interested in spending the rest if my years at your school."
For the most part I answered the whole interview with answers like that. I was asked questions further on in the interview about how I could change the school, positive effects I could bring etc. there was a connection between interviews from school and work and how I handled myself. They all consisted of questions that would briefly have me answer and define why and how I could bring change to school/work. " A language which can connect their identity to, one capable of communicating the realities and value true to themselves." To me that quote means, someone who can't be real with themselves as they communicate to others isn't capable of communicating with others.

Over the years, I’ve been told, and I’ve experienced myself, how language gives you power. What you say and how you present yourself while saying it can make an immediate impression on the people your talking to. But what not many people realize is, that while language can give you power, it can also take it away.

I never really thought about the way I spoke. I always just assumed that I sounded normal, nothing out of the ordinary, and definitely not too far off from everybody else. My friends in grade school never mentioned anything about my way of speaking, and neither did my family. Everything went on as usual, until I began going to Summer Camp. People that went there were from all over the place. Everyone talked a bit differently. As we were all introducing ourselves one boy asked where I was from

“Oh, I’m from Philadelphia.” I said, assuming he was just wondering which region I was from.

“Really? I didn’t think people from there had any accents.”

“…What?” I thought it was odd, I didn’t have an accent. “I don’t have an accent.” I defended myself, but he wasn’t trying to insult me, so he just laughed,

“Yeah, you do. It’s cute.” Of course, I just thanked him, but it lead me to think about other things. I began noticing the way other’s talked more, and the way I talked. I now heard and recognized which words I may be pronouncing differently, I don’t know why I did it; it was just how I’d always talked. Throughout my time there, people had kept on mentioning it, I’d gotten used to it and just responded with a simple ‘I don’t actually know why I have an accent. I guess I just do.’

            As time went on, I began to notice it more, I noticed when I did it and what it sounded like. I realized I had an accent when I got angry or upset, and I realized when I tried to hide it. Accents, and just language in general can have a big affect on a person and those surrounding them. The way I speak and present myself entirely depends on who I’m with and where I am. When I’m with my family, I’m loud and less cautious of how I sound, but more cautious of what I say, and what terms I use. Around my friends, I’m more cautious of keeping my accent reigned in and less about what I say.  I think the cause of this is, while I can still be myself around my friends, I know I don’t have to impress my family, or try to gain their approval with anything. This lead me to realize the fact that my persona when I’m alone and my persona in public are so different. When I’m alone, or with close friends, I tend to be louder and less reserved. I tend to share my opinions more because I know that they will more or less not judge me on it. When I’m in public, or in a place where my opinions and what I say may be disregarded or I may be judged on what I say, I definitely take more time to think about what I have to say and make sure I sound smart when I say it.

 Now, sounding ‘smart’ to me meant enunciating my words, regardless of the accent, and making sure I know exactly what I’m saying before I say it. In society, a generally accepted idea is that having a voice gives you power. Speaking out and making yourself heard and having your opinions recognized are all things that gives you power. But I think something that isn’t often recognized is that a voice can also take away a lot of the power that you have. If someone deems the way that you speak to be ‘wrong’ it makes you insecure about the way you speak. I have been told that the way I pronounce some words are wrong, which ultimately leads to me trying to change the way I speak, or just not speak at all. I don’t want to be told that something I’ve been doing all my life is all of a sudden wrong and that I should change it, it knocks down my confidence and takes away any power that I had before.

There are many key roles in the way that we speak, one of them being the company we keep, and one of the others being our history. We don’t necessarily have to be from a certain place to pick up an accent, or a saying, or other ways of speaking from that region. My grandparents are Italian, and although even my grandmother doesn’t fully speak Italian, there are some words and phrases that she uses. From being around them so much, I’ve picked up some ways of speaking from her, such as the way I use an accent when pronouncing Italian foods. When we were kids, my grandma would pinch me and my sister’s faces and say

“Look at the faccia” ‘faccia’ being the Italian word for face. Throughout time, I began picking it up and found myself saying the same thing with my little cousins, that along with ‘bambino’ the word for ‘baby.’

            Although I’ve picked these things up and using them has become sort of involuntary, I’ve had to stop saying them in the company of people who don’t exactly know my background. People have asked me if I spoke Italian, which I don’t, and when I tell them that, they accuse me of faking it. This reminds me of a the writing “ If Black English, Isn’t a language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” In this story, they're arguing whether something is or isn't a language. They say that some people take speaking "black english" as just being wrong. But I don't think there is one right or wrong way to speak, and nobody has the right to take anybody else's speech away.

            I have seen this problem with many people, not just myself. The way that they speak is criticized to the point that they have to change everything about it. Something that once gave them power, is now a burden.             

Kyler Jones                                

 I’m drafting an essay for english class when my teacher comes over and gives it a read. It’s supposed to be about my feelings about language and how it relates to me and society. But I end up writting a 2000 word manifesto about society, capitalism, imperialism, and the english language. And what language is and how it changes the World and defines cultures.

“ This is too much, this is a manifesto” says Ms. Pamohov.

 I was honestly surprised at myself, I knew that I went too far, but I didn’t expect it to go so far out of the topic. How did I turn an autobiography into a complete historical dissection of society?

 

Read anything by me one can’t not hear the terms “civilization” “patriarchy” “society”“objectification” “imperialism”“slavery” “myth” “Economics” “religion” “science” “hypersimplification”“Leftism” “capitalism” “poverty” “conquest”“rape” “nature”“zombies” “disease” “cosmetic”  “superficial” “hierarchy” “indigenous” “lies” “land” and “industrial”.

 

My language is how I perceive the world, and how I see through the chains and insanity of our society. Everything I see, I attempt or sometimes involuntarily see how it relates to the centralized purposes of distant powers. It all started as soon as I entered highschool. I just started to question everything and see the truth.

 

When my teacher said language the first thing I could think about was how different types of languages actually alter perceptions of reality, I thought about the Nords taking over Britain and giving the English language swear words, and I just couldn’t help thinking cultural white-washing, and the stupidity of relationships built on pretence.

 

Now I think about how seriously far attached I am from my peers, and the majority of this society. Most people don’t even truly understand what “civilization” or “science” is. They don’t give a damn about “nature” or “overshoot”. I often get laughter and smirks whenever I read things I journal in history class. I’m not sure if it’s either jealousy, malaise, or misunderstanding. Am I really that alien?

 

That’s why I rarely talk outside of class, no one to talk to, nothing to talk about to them that won’t leave me saying something that sparks controversy and arguments. Rarely can I go about daily activities without comments or the input of other people, guess it just makes them uncomfortable that they can be wrong and I can be right.

I can’t help to see the reality of traditions fully based on cloth. It would be pointless for me to waste my time trying to censor and numb my thoughts because of what is passively accepted and upheld in the mainstream.

 

My pier’s vocabulary only ranges from “Homework!”, to “Hipster”, to “OMG!”.  They may talk of every flavor of Snoop Dogg blasts, but they would never talk about how many salmon are sacrificed in the manufacturing of those disgusting beverages, like me.

 They’ll talk about how awesome it is to get baked, I talk about how sad it is that marijuana is the only plant people think is worth saving. They say “iphone 4”, I say technology is not neutral. They say Obama to sound political, but I’ll talk about how he is just another capitalist warhead.

  I’m not sure of whatever power that entitles me, or If I honestly gain anything from accept constant depression when I look humans.

“It goes without saying, then, that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power. It is the vivid and crucial key to identify: It reveals the private identity, and connects one with, or divorces one from, the larger, public, or communal identity” In this quote from James Baldwin’s “ If Black English, Isn’t a language, Then Tell Me, What Is?”, I definitely don’t agree the “Black English” is language, but just a variant of English, and I don’t think that language is the crucial key to identity- it is agreeable that language is most definitely a political instrument for me, separating me from public and or common thought and opinion.

 

I worry about language not on a basis such as what judgments people are going to try to make about me, being that I’m black, or how I was raised, or if I’m a know-it-all. As a political instrument I want to utilize it to the best of my abilities so it can be understood by anyone regardless of how well they know the English language, and I want my words to communicate every passionate rage, every fact, and reality to inspire the cynic and nihilist into actions. To cure the hedonists from his/her naïve ways, and to devastate the perpetually blissful. If I intend to.