APUSH Journal #6: Women Are Slowly Taking Over

“Women live longer than men. They do better in this economy. More of ‘em graduate from college. They go into space and do everything men do, and sometimes they do it a whole lot better. I mean, hell, get out of the way- these females are going to leave us males in the dust.”-Ericsson from “The End of Men”

To me it is unfathomable how women were not given equal rights and social equality from the beginning. After learning about how deeply rooted racism was in our country, I found it extremely shocking how African American males got voting rights 50 years before white women did, and also how outlawing sex discrimination was only added to the civil rights bill to stop it from making race discrimination illegal! With that said, it is amazing how far we’ve come, yet also amazing how much further we have to go before truly reaching equality. After this unit, I was left feeling unsure; should I pity myself for being a girl because of the way the media portrays us and the expectations society holds us to? Or should I be proud because, it least economically, we are beginning to race ahead? I started out pessimistic, but now I see there really are things to be hopeful about.

People are predicting now that women are starting to catch up with men, and will soon control the economy. Things are changing; “thinking and communication have come to eclipse physical strength and stamina”, so women are no longer biologically handicapped- in fact, women tend to be better at that kind of stuff! We are more social, flexible, focused, and considerate, and now we are the final ingredient: empowered. Although still present, the wage gap is slowly closing, and more and more women are going into previously male-dominated careers. Women were not hit nearly as hard by the recession, and for the first time women hold the majority of jobs in the US, which reading about gave me great pride. The fact that a country’s economic success seems to be so closely tied to women’s involvement in the work force and government shows our power, and should give more incentive for true equality to be met! There may be more women in college now, but there still needs to be more women in politics; we’re moving in the right direction, but we are definitely not there yet.

Before we delved into how brainwashing and horrible the media is towards and about girls, I felt like we had basically reached equality. My whole life I have felt that I have had the same opportunities as boys; I don’t fear not getting a job or not getting into college because I’m a girl, I could technically try out for wrestling if I chose to, I don’t feel pressure to take my husband’s name if and when I get married, etc., etc. I obviously notice the slight inequalities and the very prevalent gender stereotypes, but I don’t feel that those are really holding me back at all. This was not so true for my mom’s generation. In high school she did sports like cheer leading and synchronized swimming because most sports were not available to girls. Now I play soccer and lacrosse (although our uniforms still consist of skirts and we are not allowed to check people like in boys lacrosse), and although I do not exercise it, I do have the right to try out for boys-only teams like football. Also, when my mom was in high school, all girls were required to take home economics while boys were required to take wood working and metal shop- classes we don’t even have at Sharon High School! My grandma, who never went to college and was “actually incredibly subservient now that [my mom thought] about it” wanted my mom to become a real-estate agent or an art teacher- but she wanted to follow her father and go into business. Now I really don’t think there are anymore guidelines for what females can be- in fact I think there are far greater barriers for males! I feel like it is far weirder for a guy to want to be a nurse, or a dancer, or a stay-at-home dad, than it is for a girl to want to be a doctor, or an engineer, or a police officer. When I read the quote “What’s college? That’s where girls who are above cooking and sewing go to meet a man so they can spend their lives cooking and sewing” in a Digital History reading I realized that that was sort of what my mom did! I mean, she didn’t mind becoming a stay-at-home mom, but I feel like all those years of college and graduate school were wasted because she just chose to fold laundry and cook for the rest of her life! Maybe I’m just against it because that is not something I would ever want for myself, but the fact that it’s not just expected that I become a housewife is something to be proud of I guess.

As more women start to compete- and win against men, I believe these gender stereotypes we are so accustomed to will begin to fade away. Everything should be “equal opportunity”, and being a feminist I would like to focus on all the ways we have not yet reached that, but I’m happy to say that I actually believe we are inching closer.

LC Exercise #6 Part 2: Just Friends?

I believe that females and males can just be friends without the possibility of it becoming more, although I will admit that this is quite rare. For the most part I actually believe that there is always it least a tiny bit of attraction or flirtation between girls and guys, and that idea of maybe making it into something more is always in the back of people’s mind, even if it’s only a teeny tiny possibility/desire. There are those few people though that aren’t like that, you really truly only see them in that friend light, not because they’re not great, but because you really only think of them as more of a brother or sister. You could like them so much, but the idea of becoming more is almost gross to you! Almost everyone I talked to about it agreed with me; it is definitely possible to for girls and guys to just be friends. On Facebook I posted a poll and 11 out of the 12 people who answered said they could, and most of them justified it the same way: “you just don’t see some people like that”.

Brett: UNSURE

Originally he answered that they can be friends, but later slightly changed his answer… “I thought about the question more… It’s not that easy of one to answer if you think of it more… I think that on a macro scale it’s probably true that you can just be friends, but that’s only because other love options are available- I think if you put a male and a female on a deserted island, they’d either fall in love or kill each other!”

Ilana: CAN BE FRIENDS

“I don’t know… it’s just- you don’t find every guy you’re friends with attractive! You may be good friends with someone, but still never see yourself in a relationship with them or anything.”

Bryan: CAN BE FRIENDS

“I understand how a lot of times people start going out because they were originally friends, but not everyone you’re friends with is someone you would go out with. I may like a lot of things about a person, but that doesn’t mean necessarily that I’ll start to like them.”

Jacqui: CAN’T BE FRIENDS

Jacqui was the only person I found who doesn’t think that females and males can only be friends; her point was that if you’re friends with someone, you must like a lot of things about them, and if they’re of the opposite sex, then you’re most likely going to develop feelings for them. “Well I just think that whether or not you’re attracted to someone you become friends with them because you enjoy their company, and then finding more in common and other aspects of them that you like makes them attractive and then… ba-da-bing ba-da-boom: love!”

Raichel: CAN BE FRIENDS

Raichel had a hard time explaining her point of view, but basically what I think she was trying to get at was that you can’t like everyone enough to want a relationship with them; some people you just like less than others, but you can still be friends. “There are just some guys that you don’t hate but that you would never want something more with!”

LC Exercise #6 Part 1: "F is for Friends Who Do Stuff Together"

1. Purposely get lost in Boston and have to find our way back

2. Go to the movies with a blindfold on and draw what we think the main character looks like afterwards

3. Go “coning” at McDonald’s (order a soft serve cone at the drive through and only take the ice cream not the entire cone)

4. Sleepover in a random place like at Ames Street Playground, Borderland, or one of the sheds for sale at this place in Cobb Corner (not sure how legal this is…)

5. Build our own tree house

6. Go cow tipping!

There are literally so many things that we’ve said we want to do but have never actually done. This is mostly because they’re really weird or hard to do, but some of them actually are pretty doable I realized, so we really needed this to get us to actually go through with it. I decided to try the exercise with my two best friends, Payal and Raichel, and also Jared, Brett, and Eric because we hang out basically every weekend, but never do any of the things we say we want to, and instead just end up just at someone’s house normally. It took us forever to come up with this list, even though we’ve definitely said maybe a million different things that we should try one day- so these are only the few that we could remember. We could definitely do more things like this, just somehow we always end up just hanging out normally because it’s the least effort. Without a doubt though, we will definitely start doing more activities like this because it’s worth the effort, and it’s really fun to switch it up sometimes.

Since a bunch of us finally had our licenses we decided that we just had to go “coning”, so one night we all drove all the way across town to McDonalds only to find that they ran out of ice cream…Of course, the one day we finally decide to try it. So we picked our next favorite on the list to try next time: getting lost in Boston. We took the train in, grabbed a late lunch, and literally just walked around until we found another subway station, got on that not knowing if it was inbound or outbound, got off at a random spot, walked around some more, and then after a while decided it was time to start finding our way back. It was really fun just not caring where we were going, not having a set destination, and just, you know, being kind of stupid and weird. We would try to find strange looking people and force each other to ask them for directions, or just close our eyes and spin in a circle to figure out which way we would go- just like random, funny things. At one point Payal dropped her water bottle accidentally and this random guy walking on the sidewalk screams out “NO!! WHAT A WASTE OF WATER! HOW COULD YOU!?”, just to be obnoxious, and the look on her face was maybe the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen. Later on the green line a group of drunk- and still drinking (on the subway)- college kids were trying to give us directions, and it was literally so entertaining. It was odd experiences like these that made it worth doing, and just being all together while these things were happening obviously made it even more amusing. Getting back home wasn’t very difficult since we knew the T pretty well, but it was still a fun process just because of the spontaneity.

Not much was really said that I can remember besides Raichel saying, “I’m glad you made us do this, Gabi!” and everyone agreeing, but it was obvious that everyone enjoyed themselves. Everyone also agreed that we should continue to add things to the list, and obviously continue to try and cross things off of it. Before I guess it was sort of laziness that prevented us from doing things like these, but now that we see how much of a success it can be we definitely have a lot more motivation to keep trying them. Instead of just hanging out, sometimes we can do something different and exciting like this.

APUSH Podcast #4: The Civil Rights Movement

In Clarence Taylor’s speech, he started by pointing out how the popular view of the Civil Rights Movement isn’t completely accurate, and I can definitely say that I originally had this view myself. I too thought that most of the civil rights issues were focused in the South since slavery was previously concentrated there, but the North needed to make some changes as well. Abolitionism may have begun there, but discrimination towards African Americans was also extremely prevalent. When we watched the documentary about the problems with desegregation in South Boston, I was completely shocked and ashamed by what happened there. Although learning about the unbelievable racism in America made me upset, thinking that it was mostly in the South made me feel slightly better, but after learning more about it, I lost that tiny bit of solace because African Americans struggled everywhere, including Massachusetts, a seemingly liberal state. I also previously thought that the Civil Rights Movement was mostly in the 60’s, when really it could be argued that it started as early as the 1890’s with the end of reconstruction. It is absolutely appalling and pathetic that it took America so many years to finally give African Americans the rights they deserved.

What ended this movement was ultimately the backlash from the spreading of the black power ideology. Things simply seemed too “crazy” at that time, so white Americans began to become more conservative, and a division between the different civil rights groups made them weaker. The black power movement allowed violence, which angered both whites and other African Americans working for the same goal in a non-violent way. Although I am not necessarily against violence in self-defense, to me it is very unfortunate that this is what caused the Civil Rights Movement to gradually disappear. There was still work to be done (as I’ll talk about later), yet their campaign lost the support it needed to be completely successful because they couldn’t agree on how exactly to win the rights that they all wanted. Even groups that both supported non-violence such as SNCC and SCLC were rivals to each other because they couldn’t agree on who would lead the movement, the group or specific individuals, as Taylor briefly talks about. The competition and lack of cooperation (which I understand was basically unavoidable) lead to too much disunity for the movement to continue on.

A major debate that I wished Clarence Taylor addressed further, was “phase four” of the Civil Rights Movement: “post-civil rights era”. Was the Civil Rights Movement successful? Before this class, I believed yes, but now I definitely believe we still have a ways to go before completely achieving racial equality. Many people believe it was a success because they ended legal discrimination, but Taylor argues that the movement had other goals as well such as ending economic and social discrimination for African Americans. This even today has not been accomplished, although America has made great progress. Taylor also reasons that although they did finally legally have rights, those rights were still commonly violated. Racism also still prevails in America, as much as we try to ignore that fact, or even deny it. For these reasons I have to say that I side with Clarence Taylor; it is the unfortunate truth that we cannot label this current time period the “post-civil rights era”. A positive from this though, is that it “helped spark other social protest movements” such as trying to obtain equal rights for all genders and sexual orientations.  The Civil Rights Movement should have continued though, as African Americans still face challenges because of their race that they shouldn’t have to. 

LC Exercise #5 Part 2: Laugh Yoga Session

After having our laugh yoga session in class, I really wanted to try it out with some friends, but never really ended up doing it. Although it was definitely fun in class, I thought it would have been even better if I was good friends with the people because then no one would feel awkward. So this past Saturday I tried it with a small group of five friends, and if I had known how much of a success it was going to be I would have definitely done it sooner.

I kind of improvised because I didn’t remember all the different activities, but I started off with chanting “Hee, hee! Ho, ho, ho!” (I couldn’t remember what it actually was!), poking themselves, handshakes, “putting on lotion”, rowing in a line, adding “ha’s” in a line (we just starting at the front again until we couldn’t go any higher), saying random things in a circle, and I made up a few of my own (jumping high fives with one big “HA!” and whispering “ha’s” into someone’s ear, getting louder and louder). A lot of what made it funny though was that people didn’t always stick to the rules of each exercise. They seemed to really get into it and like it, and by the end we were in a giant pig pile on the floor hysterically laughing.

The feedback I got was all positive, but also I could just tell from their genuine laughter that they had enjoyed it. They all seemed skeptical at the beginning, and were really surprised when it actually turned out well. Eric said something like, “No offense, but at first I thought this was going to suck- but it was actually good!” and Payal said “Gabi! Wait..! That was actually so fun!”. It also definitely had a lasting effect as well because a couple hours later Raichel randomly started giggling, and we were all confused, and she could barely get it out, “…Eric’s face! During laugh yoga!”. So obviously the happiness lasted even after the session was over.

It was a really good group to do it in because it did not take long to get a lot of genuine laughter. I felt more myself around them, so it was easier for me to get into it as well. I wasn’t necessarily nervous to try I with them, but I was just nervous for whether it’d be fun or not- but it definitely was because no one really held back!

LC Exercise #5 Part 1: Well That Was Easy, We're Friends Now

My younger sister Mimi:

(She didn’t really ask me to do much, I just spent more time with her during our normal activities and tried to avoid our normal fighting)
11/20/11-11/27/11

Sunday: Do homework/listen to music together --- actually cooperate for once because I always was okay (“said yes”) to her (mostly horrible) song choices

Monday: Walk home together; Let her borrow some clothes (normally I say no or get really annoyed and give her a hard time about it)

Tuesday: [Her birthday!] Hang out with her and her friend

Wednesday: Watch TV together; Play board game with her and my other sister Lili

Thursday: [Thanksgiving] Hang out all day with her and our cousins; Leave them and go hang out in her room when they start to get annoying

Friday: Clung to her and her friend at a Chinese Exchange goodbye party my mom decided to host; After the party just talk and watch TV together all night --- we told each other so much!

Saturday: (Nothing, we were separate all day)

Sunday: Crazy dancing/music session; Watch a movie together

My sister and I are constantly bugging each other- we don’t get a long very well most of the time. One day we had another one of our normal screaming matches, so then I decided I was going to try this exercise on her because I’m just sick of always fighting and it bothers me when people always ask me why we’re not close. What was great is that I really didn’t have to go out of my way at all really, yet our relationship actually changed so much. We basically just decided that we don’t want to fight anymore.

I really didn’t expect this huge transformation, but on Friday night when we just actually told each other about our lives (before we really didn’t tell each other personal stuff) we became so much closer. I trust her more now, we understand each other better, and we both don’t want to constantly be clashing over dumb things anymore. The rest of the week was fairly normal, but still helpful as well; we barely fought, we share better, and now we’re able to tell each other things. It’s not like our relationship was horrible before, I guess the fighting was fairly normal, but we were just really distant, so it’s nice that I feel I can confide in her now. Mimi also feels the same way, as she told me how she also likes being able to tell me things and that she too does not want to argue anymore. She told me, “Rachel (her best friend) and Liz (her best friend’s older sister) are so close and I just always wished we had that! We just need to like stop freaking out at each other over stupid stuff!”.

My week didn’t necessarily change that much; it was mostly over break so I had a lot of extra time. Normally though on school weeks the only time we really see is each other is when we do homework in the same room because we both have really crazy schedules. I think now though we’ll spend less time fighting and we’ll also be able to hang out with each other’s friends more. The time we spent together that week was definitely well spent, even though a lot of it was just chilling out (maybe if I told her about the exercise beforehand we would have done more?). She really is one of the few people I can truly be completely myself around (we literally are so weird together), so it’s great that we have more of the running around/being crazy/laughing times instead of the pissing-me-off times!

LC Movie Test: As Good As It Gets

Somehow Melvin, a mean, old man who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Carol, a kind waitress who’s son suffers from severe asthma, and Simon, a talented artist who is left broke and in the hospital from a robbery and needs the help of his parents whom he hasn’t spoken to in years, all somehow change each other’s lives through compassion, cooperation, and altruism. Melvin learns to be nicer and more accepting of others from both Simon and Carol, both playing a part in him getting over his OCD. For Simon, Carol helps him by simply listening to him, urging him to make the first step in contacting his parents, and making him want to paint again, and Melvin helps him learn to stand up for himself. Carol felt better about herself from Simon’s drawings, and Melvin gave her son a doctor and gave her love. In unlikely circumstances they were able to come together in the most unexpected ways. Melvin, although seemingly callous and unpleasant, looses that exterior after being treated with compassion, and through altruistic acts and slowly opening up, he is able to win Carol’s heart. Carol and Simon go from complete strangers to saying “I love you” to each other because of compassion and cooperation. Simon is able to open up to Carol because she shows she cares, and then they help each other feel better by drawing (finds the motivation to be an artist again) and being drawn (feels beautiful and appreciated). Eventually, although they have nothing in common and have all been through a lot, they begin to actually love each other because of the ways they’ve had an impact on each other.

Kin Selection Theory:

Carol, who is normally compassionate and forgiving and does not let Melvin’s comments affect her, finally tells him off because he said something as cruel as “sounds like your son is going to die soon too”. She yells at him, insults him, and threatens to kick him out of the restaurant for good if he ever says anything about her son again. Why does she act so strongly when it’s about her son, yet not when he insults other customers or even her? Because of kin selection; her son’s well-being greatly affects her well-being, and her highest priority is making sure he’s healthy and happy. She feels the urge to stand up for him because she cares about him so much; whatever hurts her son hurts her.

Reciprocal Altruism:

Melvin helped Simon learn to stand up for himself, and also helped him by looking after his dog, driving him to his parents, and letting him have the extra room in his apartment when he had no where to go. Later when Melvin is the one in need, Simon helps by giving him a pep talk to go get Carol. This is reciprocal altruism because he wanted to return the favor. Melvin may have said some really hurtful things to Simon, but ultimately he did help him when he needed it most, so Simon felt almost obligated to try to help him where he could, even if it was only boosting his confidence and helping him make the right decision.

Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis:

During Melvin, Simon, and Carol’s road trip to Simon’s parents, Carol decides to pull over the car so that she can really talk to Simon about his problems and help him feel better. She feels empathy for him; she understands his sadness, so she wants to help him by simply listening to him. Because of the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis, her urge to reach out to him comes from her sharing his feelings. She may not have been in the same situation, but she knows his pain. She gives him her full attention without judgment, and then gives him advice on what to do next: take the first step and talk with his parents. 

LC Blog #4: Q&A on Altruism and Human Nature

1) How are we able to forget all the problems we know exist and continue on with our daily lives even if we actually do care?

Constantly I feel guilt for not helping when I know I should and could. One moment I’ll be watching an ad on TV about starving kids in Africa or reading an article about the child sex slavery problem- and I’ll feel horrible, and incredibly sympathetic, and also motivated to do something- but then a little while later when it’s off my mind I obviously go back to my normal life, indulging in luxuries I don’t even recognize as luxuries like going to the movies, doing homework, eating! Maybe this is more of a personal problem, but we are all aware of issues in the world and issues in our own communities, yet most of us are able to put them out of our minds and go on as usual because it doesn’t directly affect us. I find that to be a huge flaw in human nature. Some people might say, well it’s nice to help other people, but you should really only feel responsible for your “group”, whether that be your family, your community, your country, etc, because we need to look out for ourselves. That is how it is in the animal world, that is how it naturally is suppose to be, some would argue. Being so connected today though, we are able to know and understand what is happening on the other side of the country, or on the other side of the world, and are capable of helping, and because of that I feel we are in fact responsible for our species as a whole. To actually answer the question, we probably don’t help people we don’t have a direct relationship with because of sympathetic paralysis; if we were to take on all the issues of the world, we wouldn’t be able to function! “Nature’s wisdom has turned off our empathy before we can become overwrought and crippled with unhappiness at the suffering of others”^[1]. In my eyes though, that is a poor excuse; taking on the world’s pain is too much, but helping where you can rather than ignoring things is quite possible- yet it is not done nearly enough. As discussed when learning about kin selection, those who view everyone as their kin are the ones who are truly defined as altruists. This goes to show that some people overcome sympathetic paralysis- which makes me wonder why some people can’t.

2) If humans are biologically altruistic how come we have such a terrible history of wars, genocide, terrorism, etc.? How come there seems to be just as much bad as good in the world?

During our entire study of altruism I have wondered, if studies have shown that people are biologically good, how come there is still so much evil in the human race? I guess this depends on a variety of factors- infinite factors really. People as individuals have different experiences that shape them as they grow up; living circumstances, differences in culture and education that change their views, etc. Also, some people are just not capable of having compassion for those outside their “kin selection group”, they are selfish and uncompassionate towards people they don’t believe they have a connection to. Some studies have also shown that we are born preprogrammed with a sense of morality; “we generally do not commit wrong acts because we recognize that they are wrong and because we do not want to pay the emotional price of doing something we perceive as wrong”^[2]. The problem with that is that a lot of times people don’t realize what they’re doing is wrong due to cognitive dissonance. Small acts of unkindness lead to more and more cruelty because one step at a time they become worse and worse, justifying their actions every time by saying that theirprevious action was justified^[3]. Yet another reason is our obedience to authority figures; even if we realize we are doing something wrong, we feel we have to simply because we were told to and don’t feel we are the ones responsible. For example, in class you told us that some previous Nazi’s were interviewed and they said “we were just doing what we were told to”, and also in the Milgram Study 66% of people finished the experiment in which they were told to shock people at extremely dangerous levels. Studies also show that evil can spread just as much as goodness, which explains why there seems to be such a balance between good and bad in the world. It’s saddening that the power of good and evil seem to be fairly equal.

3) Why has our cultured evolved to believe caring isn’t cool?

Somehow along the way, it has in a sense become un-cool to care. I will admit that my generation tends to be rather self-centered, rude, materialistic, and inconsiderate towards others. People rarely stick up for each other and actually feel awkward showing compassion towards those outside their small group of people they feel responsible for. This was especially prevalent in middle school, although as we have grown up we definitely have gotten better. There are most definitely exceptions to this as well, but it seems to me that people are afraid to show kindness. This might be because we feel more vulnerable and almost weak when we care about something, but I am still greatly confused by this question. Why does being “bad” make you cool? Life would just be better for everyone is people were always nice to each other, but instead many people choose to try to bring other people down.

Unfortunately I don’t believe there is actually such a thing as “doing something out of the kindness of your heart”; psychological egoism controls every good deed we do! This is not to say that everything is selfish, but in way- even if it is at a cost to you- anything good you’ve ever done has benefited you somehow. You may feel like a better person, feel like your life has more meaning, or another person’s happiness brings you happiness, etc., etc. In the moment, your actual reason for helping may solely be for that other person, but why actually do something? Because you get the satisfaction of helping someone. “The real motive of these actions was that they fulfilled some need of the self….This “something” is usually referred to as a “good feeling” or avoidance of bad feelings”^[4]. Personally, I never thought that I was an altruist, but learning about these things made me realize, that I really do only do nice things because it makes me happy! The theory of psychological hedonism says that we only help others because we want to “experience pleasure or avoid pain”- and rather unfortunately, I believe that’s true (mostly because that has been my experience with things). It’s not entirely bad though, helping others is a great way to make everyone including yourself happy, and so everyone wins!

^[1] = “Why People May Not Help” Packet Hand Out

^[2] = “Is Morality Natural?” Article by Marc D. Hauser, Ph.D.

^[3] = Mistakes Were Made, But Not By Me by Carol Travis and Elliot Aronson

^[4] = “The Case Against Altruism” Packet Hand Out

APUSH Podcast #3: The Significance of Reconstruction

Before this unit, I was part of the 80% of high school students who did not know about Reconstruction. I had no idea that African Americans actually did have equal rights under federal law, but that state governments ignored it; I did not know such a progressive time period was even attempted. As Eric Foner said, “Reconstruction was a historical process” from which the United States “came to terms with consequences of the civil war”- the most important one being the issue of what to do with the 4 million freed blacks. This raised numerous problems like citizenship, the continued issue of the states’ power vs. the federal government’s power, affirmative action, and the relationship between economic and political power. I feel as though the laws addressed all of these issues well though, it was just the lack of enforcement that lead to its failure. Foner made some very interesting points, and showed really just how much has changed in such a little time span, from Reconstruction to now.

For 50 years the Reconstruction Period was seen as too radical, but this view has changed, and now many believe it was not radical enough. Foner explains that this was due mostly because of the racial norms; until the 1960’s there was still a great deal of discrimination towards blacks, but now almost everyone believes in equality. Many believed that it was a mistake to give African Americans the right to vote and that the radical republicans in office gave them too many rights too soon. Today, most people feel the opposite; they should have been given complete equality right away. I also believe that the fact that the North didn’t understand Southern race relations doesn’t actually matter; eventually with enough effort and force, those race relations could have been permanently changed. A common point of view now is that if they had kept troops in the South for longer and done a better job enforcing these new laws after leaving, then the South maybe would not have treated blacks so terribly because they would have learned to accept and abide by those laws. The laws and amendments passed during Reconstruction were incredibly progressive for their time and could have significantly and positively effected race relations had they been better enforced. By no means was it a mistake to give African Americans the rights they deserved (especially since they helped fight to save the Union), but they had to be more strongly protected, particularly in the South. As Foner brilliantly put it, “the problem wasn’t that it was attempted, but that it failed”.

Another point that Foner touched upon was how equality wasn’t a normal thing in that time period. Today we take that for granted, as it is just expected, but back then it was a very radical idea. It’s so hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that it never occurred to most whites that they should be treating blacks better. White supremacy was incredibly popular in the South, so spreading equality was especially difficult there. Foner shocked me when he said that terrorist groups like the Klu Klux Klan actually killed more Americans than Osama Bin Laden did on September 11^th. That to me is absolutely horrifying that people actually believed they had the right to kill other people because they thought they were inferior. It was also estimated that over 4,000 lynchings occurred in the South, most of which were of blacks. These things make me ashamed of our country, but also at the same time extremely proud that we were able to overcome that and are becoming closer and closer to racial equality all the time. Equality seemed nearly impossible at that dark time in our history, but now I feel we’ve almost achieved it.

During Reconstruction a major issue was state governments ignoring the laws made to protect blacks’ rights. Foners said, “We didn’t need a new constitution, we just needed enforcement!” This is because the Civil Rights Laws and the new amendments were not repealed, they were just simply violated through things like disenfranchisement and violence. The law might have said “separate but equal”, but that was never actually the case. What I found interesting was that the 14^th Amendment actually gave more power to the federal government for once, since normally the Constitution was based around limiting the powers of the federal government, and yet it was still violated by the states. “Just to write it in the books was not enough”, the Southern states’ governments didn’t abide by the Constitution when it came to issues like voting and segregation. This seemed to go against everything the North was fighting for during the Civil War because the states had so much power and could basically choose which rights they would allow African Americans to have. It bothers me so much that race relations could have improved so much and so much sooner had the lawsactually protected blacks.

Eric Foner really just made me realize how much the government was responsible for all these problems. The key to avoiding most of this was really just enforcement, but they failed to do that. Reconstruction was probably the worst part of America’s history, as it is so unbelievable now that people could have harbored so much hate for others based on the color of their skin.

LC Exercise #4 Part 1: All The Good I Might Do Before I Die

PROBLEMS	ACTIONS
Global Poverty	I really want to work for a non-profit, especially focusing on education* (for both boys AND girls!) all over the world
Unhappiness	I can do small everyday things to make the people around me happier; a smile, a wave, a compliment, a hug, are all tiny things that can have a large impact
Orphans	Really random, but I’ve always wanted to adopt kids in the future!!
Environmental Issues	Make small changes to my habits (to lower my ecological footprint) to eventually actually make a difference
*All the Evil in the World (War/Violence/Crime/Genocide/Terrorism, etc.)	As part of promoting education in third world countries, I think the Love Course should be available to every student around the world. Only half way through the course, and I already believe it has made me a better person- so think if everyone became a better person! Compassion CAN be taught, or it least people can become more aware of it, so it’s literally the answer to all our problems! You don’t fight terrorism with war; you fight it with education, and love!

(That’s all I can think of for now, but there is so much more!)

The change I really wanted to focus on was being more environmentally friendly, mostly because it was one of the only ones that was really possible for me to do at this time in my life, and also I really do care about the environment, but rarely do much to help. The others, although I feel like I’m putting some of them off, I know will eventually get done if I choose to still do them when I get to that point, and as for making people happier with little things, I am also trying to make that more habitual. Already I try to be environmentally friendly, but obviously there is so, so, so much more I could be doing. So I tried to do all the things I already knew I should be doing, and tried to make them into a normal part of my daily routine. Not only do I only use reusable water bottles, but I convinced my mom to no longer even buy disposable plastic water bottles, so that the rest of my family no longer has the choice. Also, a lot of girls on my soccer team always leave their plastic bottles on the fields, so someone always has to take an armful on them to the trash at the end of every practice or game- but now I take them home with me in my bag in order to recycle them (why people can’t just pick up after themselves is beyond me). I also added a recycling bin to my room for when I'm too lazy to take something downstairs to recycle it. We also purchased more reusable bags for grocery shopping and got nightlights for around the house so we don’t have to leave hallway lights on. Although I already tried to do this before, I am trying to really make it a habit to turn off the lights if I’m not in a room, turn of my computer at night and when I’m not home, turn off the faucet while brushing my teeth, and take shorter showers (although, this last one is definitely a struggle). Also, when I go to my SAT class in Boston every weekend, my friends and I now take the subway instead of driving (there’s not really any public transportation options in Sharon), and I am trying to walk home more or it least carpool. These small actions may not make a huge impact, but doing them everyday will eventually add up, especially when I get the rest of my family involved too. It feels nice to finally do something; before I just talked about how awful humans are to nature, but now I’m actually doing something about it instead of being hypocritical. I like actually "be[ing] the change [I] wish to see in the world" -Gandhi. You don’t need to be able to afford a hybrid and solar panels to start being environmentally friendly, the tiny things help too!

LC Exercise #4 Part 2: Andrew McMake-a-Difference

Andrew McMahon originally inspired me simply because of his amazing music. Then one day I found out he had just gotten over cancer, which made him even more of a hero to me and gave his music an even deeper meaning. Andrew McMahon created the bands Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin, which has been one of my favorite bands ever since I got their first album. Their music is just so important to me in a way I can’t even understand. Andrew’s lyrics are truly amazing, and are able to evoke so much emotion from so many people. He also had/has so much drive, working hard to make his high school band take off, and then abandoning it when he was ready to become a more serious musician. No matter what happened, he kept writing songs and making music. When Andrew was 22 years old he was suddenly diagnosed with leukemia, which was incredibly ironic because he had named the band after his friend’s younger brother who had childhood leukemia, and he also wrote many songs referencing hospitals, doctors, and sickness before he knew he had the disease. His uncle also died of cancer, and his family swears his uncle’s talent was somehow transferred to him. When I saw his documentary about his journey battling cancer I was shocked by how positive he tried to stay, being able to joke about it and just trying to get through it in best way possible when he knew his chances of living were so low. He even contracted pneumonia, which is the killer of most cancer patients, and later got shingles, but he worked through all of it. To be so hopeful when he was so close to death is an incredible thing. Even after watching his movie about it I still couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for him, what it must be like for so many cancer patients out there. He also started the Dear Jack Foundation which works with other organizations for research, financial aid to families, and helping people cope with the disease. He’s not only creative and sincere and honest in his music, but he also survived cancer and continued to do what he loved. What makes Andrew McMahon one of my heroes was his ability to overcome, his strength, but also his acceptance of his vulnerability, his humility, his passion for what he does, how down to earth he is, his bravery, the way he was able to channel all his emotions into such amazing music, just who is he. Before I was just a fan, but I truly look up to him. I have never had leukemia, I’ve never had to go through anything even close to that, but I hope if I ever have to that I will react the same way he did.

My story is extremely boring compared to his; I’m still sort of figuring out what my strengths are and what I want to do exactly. Although our goals are very different, Andrew McMahon showed me that you don’t need to be anyone particularly special to make a difference- he’s not exceptionally virtuous or anything, he just did what he had to do with the circumstances he was in, and just by doing what he loved to do he helped people in some way. Like him, just by doing what I love, traveling, I can help people and have a lasting impact. Although I am still very unclear in what exactly I will be doing in this field, I know that I want to work for a non-profit organization in a foreign country, where I get to both live in different places and help people in need. Already I feel I am capable of so much because I have the passion and motivation. Once I start something, I go full out, not allowing failure, and always forcing myself to finish what I started. Also, I feel that just having this drive to do something will get me anywhere; I just have to initiate it. Somehow I will either save lives or improve lives where there is need simply because I want to. I’m creative, so I can come up with new ideas and solutions and different ways of doing things, and I am always ready to and love to learn, which will help me achieve any goal I make for myself. Although my bravery has not been put to the test like Andrew McMahon’s was and my dream is very different from his, I still relate to him because of his fervor, dedication, and enthusiasm for what he does, which I believe are the key ingredients for making a difference.

Suggested Watching/Listening:

Dear Jack (the movie, you can find it on hulu.com) and the song “Swim” (don’t watch the music video, it kills it!) (…and obviously every other song he’s ever written.)

APUSH Podcast #2: War Between Neighbors

As someone who strongly believed that the cause of the war was sectionalism, I was quite surprised and taken aback by Ayers’ idea of how similar the North and South really were. He described how mostly we look back at the causes of the Civil War and search for the opposites, like abolitionists versus secessionists, and industry versus plantations, in order to give an explanation for the horrific and bloody battles and the huge amounts of casualties on both sides. He argued that this wasn’t the case though; that the North and South were far more alike than we were lead to believe. Ayers also brought up another very interesting point that if any event during the course of the war was altered, then a completely different outcome might have occurred. Every decision and every battle ultimately lead to a reunited and truly free country- but history could have been easily changed!

Just like abolitionists weren’t the majority in the North even in 1861, secessionists also weren’t the majority in the South; so the two regions really weren’t polar opposites like many people like to think. Focusing on Augusta County, Virginia, although they eventually did secede, at the beginning they were Unionists. This was astonishing to me because I originally thought that since slavery was a huge part of their economy and lives that most Virginians welcomed the idea of secession. Though they were pro-slavery, in fact “slavery had never been more prosperous” and Virginia was the “largest slave state of all”, they fought against secession. They knew that if war broke out, it would occur right where they were, and also that slavery in their state would be more likely to be protected if they did not try to go against the Union. This makes perfect sense, yet I really thought more people believed more strongly in secession in the beginning. In a matter of months though, Virginians changed their minds and joined South Carolina in the Confederacy. Even Ayers was shocked about how once they left the Union, their doubt also left. (Cognitive dissonance explains this though; once they made that irrevocable decision to secede, and put so much into that decision, they couldn’t afford to be doubtful; they had to believe in what they were doing completely, justifying their decision by saying God wanted them to secede.) The North also had a change in heart when this occurred. Just over the soon-to-be-border in Pennsylvania, they sympathized with the South. As soon as Southern states started to secede though, that sympathy was replaced with hate, and they were now ready to fight them. Ayers also touched on how their economies weren’t complete opposites either. Yes, it was slave states and free states, but 96% of Northerners were farmers, so this “agrarian society” associated only with the South, was not only limited to that region. The North may be like the South, but is the South really like the North? Ayers stating how the South also had plenty of railroads and industry seemed contradictory to everything else we had studied in class, so on that point I am left confused. Ayers’ ideas definitely gave a great counterargument to my beliefs of what the main cause of the war was, and left me wondering how such an incredibly costly war could have come from such seemingly moderate positions on both sides.

History could have easily changed at any point in the Civil War. It started with the fact that both the North and South greatly underestimated each other; both sides believing that it would be just one big battle, or it least that the war wouldn’t last long. The North, having greater resources, would seem the more likely winner, but in the beginning of the Civil War it seemed that the Confederacy was going to win. When Ayers said, “the best thing the Confederacy could have done would have been to loose in 1862”, I actually laughed to myself; how incredibly true! And ironic! If the North had had a quicker victory, slavery would have continued. Although it probably wouldn’t have lasted up to today, the outcome of slavery might have been very different. As Ayers pointed out, it could have been a gradual emancipation, there might have been compensation since they wouldn’t have been in war debt, or colonization might have occurred, which would have had the greatest impact on American history because all the challenges regarding race faced after the Civil War would have been avoided and thus never overcome. All the millions of people who died in the Civil War may not have actually meant to have risked their lives for slaves, but essentially every person was necessary in freeing them and changing the history of our country tremendously. To me, the idea that small, seemingly insignificant occurrences make such a large impact on the outcome of things is astounding. If things did not work out the exact way that they did, we almost definitely would be living in a very different type of society today.

LC Exercise #3 Part 1: The Realization of "Why Not?"

1. Sing in front of people

2. Write a book

3. All the usual fantasies like be in a movie, or a band, or model, or whatever!

4. Learn how to play guitar

5. Random, but.. Start a YUGA chapter (club)!

I chose to start my own YUGA chapter, but I haven’t exactly gotten that far with it yet, so I can’t really decide if it’s a failure or success at this point (but it looks promising!). YUGA (Youth United for Global Action and Awareness) is an organization created by Plan, a non-profit international development agency, and it’s something I had heard about a long time ago, but never thought I would actually attempt because I guess I was afraid of failure and embarrassment. I’ve always wanted to do it mainly because I always think about making change, but rarely ever actually act on it- I would finally be making a difference. I also would really like to make my grandfather, who was the director of Plan’s aid program in Hong Kong previously, proud, and I would love to work for Plan, or an organization like it, in the future. What made me decide to pick this though, was just the realization of “why not?”- if I want to do it, then I should do it, simple. Some of my other options were a lot scarier and didn’t offer me as many benefits, so this was the obvious choice.

I chose to do it co-operatively with a friend I had traveled with, Jenny Allison, who I knew would be interested. So far we have discussed plans and brainstormed ideas for events and fundraisers we could have and are currently searching for a supervisor. So, slowly we’re making progress. We have yet to have our first meeting, but it really seems like a lot of people are interested and that we can make this work! I’ve learned that it’s only the first step that’s difficult; once you get started it’s not as scary anymore.

I still don’t think I’m going to overcome my fear of singing in front of people anytime soon, but when it comes to other things it should be less nerve-racking because really, what’s the big deal? People like the idea of the club, so why was I ever so scared to try it? When I really think about it, no one would really judge me for any of the things I wrote on my list, yet in the back of my mind somehow I still am a little afraid that they would if I were to try some of them.

On a related side note, I would like to take this time to say thank you because before this exercise I was already inspired by Love Course to try something I feared, and it turned out great! I absolutely love to sing, and when I heard about the a cappella group at Sharon High School I secretly really wanted to do it, but knew that I would never actually try out because there’s nothing I fear more than singing in front of people. Then later on we watched “Yes Man” and learned in class about how we can raise our happiness levels by saying yes to opportunities and so I decided to try it- not saying yes to everything, but being more open to things. Of course, that same day, a few periods later, one of my good friends who was in a cappella last year begged me to try out- and after a lot of contemplating and worrying and more persuasion on her part, I finally signed up. I thought I was going to faint but I actually survived the try out, and actually ended up making it in- and I can say now that it has in fact made me happier.

Although, as I’ve said, we still haven’t gotten very far with the club, I’ve learned from this exercise that it’s okay to try because most of the time it’ll turn out okay- and even if it doesn’t, no one really cares. 

APUSH Journal #4: John Brown: Freedom-Fighter or Terrorist?

It seems for every debate we have involving violence, I surprise myself and say it’s justified. I believe John Brown is a heroic freedom-fighter, rather than a murdering terrorist, because I appreciate his struggle to help others. Although I disapprove of the way he killed those people, I unexpectedly believe the act of killing them was warranted. This is mostly because I strongly condemn the institution of slavery, and believe that almost any measures should have been taken to end it, since peaceful, non-violent methods did not work even after trying for so many years. John Brown was fighting for something he believed in, something he was passionate about. Abolitionists had tried so many other different protests, but they all failed to get people’s attention and were unable to make change in the South. In order to end slavery, drastic measures had to be taken, people had to finally act, and he did just that. Many people wrote in abolitionist newspapers to express their views and also helped fugitive slaves escape by hiding them, but more needed to be done. Because cotton, and thus slaves, were so much a part of not just the Southern economy, but also the entire US economy, and the Southern way of life, peaceful protests were no longer realistic. Although John Brown actually failed in creating a slave uprising, he gave up his life trying.

John Brown was also a special abolitionist; unlike most, he thought slavery was wrong and he was not prejudice or racist towards African Americans. He grew up in a mostly black community, was an Underground Railroad conductor, and even adopted fugitive slave orphans as his own children. This fight wasn’t for a cause unknown to him; he was truly fighting for his family, friends, and neighbors. Most people would argue that since he was not ever a slave, nor an African American, he can not be called a freedom-fighter because it was not his own freedom that he was fighting for, but really he was fighting for his own children! He was “standing up for the millions without rights” and without voices; he was fighting for those who could not fight for themselves.

Many people also feel that he was a terrorist, but because he was doing it for a cause I too believe in, I am unable to view him this way. It is unfortunate that people were killed, but slavery is such an obscene and inhumane institution that I actually don’t even feel bad for them (as horrible as that sounds). Millions of African Americans were enslaved against their will, being forced to do huge amounts of physical labor, treated like property, separated from their families, some experiencing extremely harsh punishments, even death- so I don’t feel much pity for the five to seven people John Brown murdered if they believed that treating African Americans that way was okay. Osama Bin Laden, as John Brown was referred to as multiple times during our debate in class, is extremely different, mostly because of his cause. Al-Qaeda’s purpose is to create a pan-Islamic world, killing all non-Muslims- abolitionists just wanted to end slavery, trying first peaceful methods before violence. Yes, John Brown most likely would have continued killing had he gotten the chance, but he didn’t plan on killing all slave-owners, he was just trying to make a point, and we can not forget that violence broke out in “Bleeding Kansas” before this occurred.

It was very surprising to me how little of the class believed what he did was good- I expected it to be more equally split. Killing people, especially in the gruesome way John Brown did, is wrong, but I don’t think enough people were really looking at why he did it. Even people who believed slaves had the right to kill, thought John Brown didn’t, which I thought was really very strange, because it’s almost the same thing. John Brown died for his cause, for his children, for every slave, and for that I believe what he did was noble rather than cruel, wrong, or too extreme.

LC Honors Project #2: Volunteerism/Community Service and Journal

Community Service Project: Helping a small village near Santa Clara, Ecuador in the Amazon rainforest replace pipes, and also interacting with the children of that community

Program: World Challenge

Contact: Rachel Walker or Leah Crosby (teacher chaperones on the trip)

Duration of the Project: Live in the village for almost 6 days; Specifically work on replacing the pipes for 7 hours

DAY 1

Hour 1 & 2: We woke up super early so that we’d be ready to meet some of the villagers who were going to help us at 8:00 AM. Everyone was incredibly excited, as this, for most of us, was what we had been looking forward to most on the trip. Five males arrived with a bunch of tools (although not enough for everyone to have their own) such as pick axes, shovels, hoes, and machetes. We walked for about 20 minutes up a dirt road just to get to where the project area was. It was all crops, so we had to first clear the area, and then we finally began to dig. Our initial goal was to reach the old pipe, so at first we were just sort of digging everywhere, just guessing where is would be. We all took turns subbing in for each other and switching tools when we got tired or bored. Finally, we found the old pipe in one area, and from there we were able to get a little more organized. The first two hours went by really quickly, probably because we were still so motivated and excited to be a part of something like that. It was tiring work, but it was fun, and no one really complained because it was actually really enjoyable.

Hour 3 & 4: After the 2 hour mark, the thrill of it all started to ware off. Now, it was sort of just work… But we were moving quickly, with so many of us (22 including the adults) we actually made a lot of progress, even if I personally didn’t feel I was being all that helpful (I’d never done anything like that before, and it’s hard!). The Ecuadorians working side by side with us made it look so easy, they were faster and more efficient than any of the Americans- so we definitely had to work hard, not just to keep up with them, but also to show them that not all Americans are lazy and incompetent! Slowly loosing steam though, we finally headed back for a much needed, and much deserved, lunch.

DAY 2

Hour 5: We had to finish digging up the original pipe still, so in the poring rain we marched up to the project location and continued to work where we had left off before. It was incredibly difficult because of all the rain- everything was mud. As soon as we would dig out some dirt, the hole would fill up with water and more dirt would slide into its place. Because we had some trouble with some of the kids playing with our stuff and also some stray dogs breaking into our food the other day, we decided two of us at a time would stay back in shifts, and it was my turn to go. After not accomplishing much, I trudged back to our campsite, only to find that I wasn’t needed. Heading back, I ran into the group who had decided to call it quits because the rain was making it too difficult. We were all disappointed, but there was nothing we could do.

DAY 3

Hour 6 & 7: It was raining again, so it was a delayed start, but we did actually get to do it once the rain got lighter. We were determined to get it done, since this was the last day we could work on it. We quickly finished digging up the old pipe, pulled it all out, and then carried all the new pipes to the project area. The old pipes were made with a thick rubber-like material and not very reliable, these new ones were much sturdier and stronger (which we paid for). Then we started the installation! Using glue- yes, glue- some of the villagers helped us piece them together one by one. Absolutely covered head to toe in mud, we re-buried the pipes, and finally we were done! This project had been started by another World Challenge group, who had only installed 18 tubes- we installed 19! Even though we missed a lot of time, we actually did more than expected and did some of the next World Challenge group’s work! It was a really satisfying feeling, and they all appreciated it so much.

            When we had the assembly for the World Challenge trip, I knew right then and there that I was going. Obviously the adventure, travel, and hiking appealed to me as well, but the community service aspect was something I had always wanted to do. World Challenge is all about letting the kids choose- so we all decided that we really wanted to do something that had to do with the environment, but also interacting with the locals. World Challenge then, as our departure draws nearer, finds a particular need and creates a project for the different groups traveling there. Unfortunately, the best they could do was have us continue replacing the pipes, which one group had started the previous summer. I was really disappointed because I was really set on helping save the rainforest! But this did give us an amazing opportunity to live in a village and meet all these people.

            It was an absolutely incredible experience- but I do have to say, I thought it would be a lot more meaningful and inspiring. Not that these people didn’t deserve our help, but I thought they’d be a lot worse off- I wasn’t expecting to be replacing pipes, I thought we’d be helping them get their first running water! Instead of doing something “life changing” I felt more like we were just doing them a favor. It was special, but not nearly as much as I thought it’d be unfortunately. I guess I was sort of imaging starving children in Africa who are in desperate need of mosquito nets, or something.

            We did make a huge impact though; the villagers were exceedingly grateful and were so unbelievably kind to us. They gave us a place to stay, provided tools for us and helped us the whole way, happily worked side by side with us (or better, laughed at us the entire time), cooked us an extremely delicious meal for our last night there, and even held a “dance” and soccer game for us. They did more for us than we did for them!

            My favorite part was not the actual labor; it was just playing with the kids during the afternoons! Not only were they the most adorable kids ever, but we honestly had so much fun with them. That’s the part where I actually felt like I was making a difference. This one girl, Nicole, was incredibly smart for her age and was so obsessed with learning new things and was completely fascinated by us. The first thing she said to me was “Excuse me, teacher, may I go to the bathroom?” because that was the longest English phrase she knew. When other kids wanted to play volleyball with the beach ball we brought them, she wouldn’t let them because the ball had a globe on it and she wanted to practice her geography. At the end of our time there I gave her children’s books with both English and Spanish in them, and she was so excited because as she said a million times, all she wants to do is go to America- I cried a little.

            As for the manual labor portion of it, I was extremely excited at first, but that gradually wore off. Not only was it so much more difficult than I expected (it’s pathetic how I never do yard work or anything close to what we did there), but as I said, it felt more just like helping out than the meaningful experience I wanted it to be. It was still so worth it though because they really did appreciate our service.

            Time is definitely a huge barrier preventing me from volunteering more, but really it is more of an excuse. If I really made the effort I know I could make it a bigger part of my schedule. Recently I have been trying harder to volunteer more: assistant coaching recreational soccer for first grade girls and helping sell cards for Hope in Bloom (an organization that creates gardens for women with breast cancer) with photography club, but they haven’t been for causes I’m passionate about and I know I should be doing more. Another excuse I give myself is that a lot of the causes I would want to support would mostly just involve donating money rather than time because they are over-seas, but I know that there actually are ways for me to get involved other than traveling there.

I definitely feel better doing something for someone else rather than myself. Especially with this project, just seeing the people we were helping directly and having a personal connection with them made it so much more rewarding. The looks on their faces, just the way they said thank you, their incredible hospitality- our effort definitely didn’t go unrecognized. You won’t get something in return all the time, but most of the time when you help others, others will help you- and you’ll just feel so much better about yourself, like you’re doing something right- so it’s not like helping others is truly an unselfish act.

Altruism isn’t really a valid concept, or it least it’s extremely rare. You almost always get something out of helping others; most of the time the reason people help others is to feel better about themselves and give their lives more meaning. The sad truth is that “Psychological hedonism” is almost always present- egoism is the driving force behind people helping others.^[1] That’s not necessarily a bad thing though; if people are truly selfish creatures, then there will always be a motivation for them to help: it’s helps them. When I think about it, doing this community service project was essentially for myself. Why was I looking forward so much to it on the trip? Because I wanted to help? No, why did I want to help? Simple, because it would give me that feeling of making a difference and make me feel like a better person. Thus, this was not selfless in the least.

Being a part of this community service project was truly incredible, something I will never forget. This project was miniscule- not very difficult change, only affecting a few- but it was a start, and I know I’m capable of more. Doing this just solidified my dream of working for an international aid organization in the future- whether on the field or in the office, I know I want to continue to make an impact in the world. I may not be altruistic, as that is near impossible, but having that urge to help is still something.

Works Cited:
[1]=”The Case Against Altruism and Kindness” Packet