Final Paper

There are many aspects of a person’s identity that can affect how they are able to, as well as how they choose to, move about the world around them. I am affected in my movement by many things including my age, gender, race, nationality, and personality traits. I am limited in the places I can go in America because although I am legally an adult, but am still considered too young for certain privileges in this country. Being female makes it harder for me to travel certain places alone, and causes a lack of respect in certain areas of the world. Being white gives me more ability to move in some places, simply because race matters more in other countries. My own personality is also as valuable to my travels as anything else that I am unable to control, simply because I am confident and sociable, which makes it easy to make friends and get help if I need it. All of these aspects of my identity have helped determine my ability to travel as much as I already have, as well as the multiple opportunities presented to me to travel all over this country as well as the rest of the world in the future.

To be able to view all parts of America, it is really necessary to be at least 21 years of age. This is how old a person must be to enter casinos as well as other businesses. Bars are off limits because of the presence of alcohol, and making my way around Las Vegas would not be nearly as interesting as it could be if I were just a few years older. This restriction by the US government puts some limits on my movements within the country, but at least they are only temporary and will no longer be in the way in a few years. My age is also something that many adults older than myself take into consideration when I am travelling. People older than myself are still very inclined to help me if I need it, and this makes it very easy to make my way through busy places, such as airports, with ease. This is an advantage during my travels, and not something I mind at all, but as well will probably not last forever.

In other nations women are considered second-class citizens, and so that makes travelling by myself difficult at times. In South Africa the girls on the team were all made aware quite early on that travelling alone at night was not safe. Every girl would find a man to walk with them to check on horses, and walking in the city without a man present was not a very smart idea. My gender can put great limitations on my movement at times, and can definitely make things more dangerous for me in certain places. While I am not too worried about my safety in most cases, at times I am definitely more cautious about where I am as well as what company I am keeping while moving around from place to place. It also helps me put into perspective the ability of other women to move throughout their surroundings.

Although quite sad, there is the undeniable truth that certain races have an easier time in this world currently. My race allows me to feel fairly safe while travelling, because in many nations that is the race of the people in power. I am not worried about being discriminated against, and the sad truth is that crimes against whites often have a much lower tolerance that those against minorities. Being American also gives me a definite advantage in many places. Since America is so powerful as a nation, I am automatically granted at least some respect in most areas. It is also nice to be able to go almost anywhere and find that many people speak English. The lack of a language barrier makes travelling very easy, and many countries have and English requirement in school so that many people can communicate easily. Both of these factors, neither of which I am able to control, make movement across the world very easy for me, and put me at an undeniable advantage compared to many other people.

Lastly, but certainly not the least important, are my own abilities that I am fully in control of, that help me travel and move throughout my surroundings and across the world, are my own personal traits that I have acquired over time. I am resourceful and logical, so instead of panicking in unfamiliar situations I am able to think clearly and find a solution to any problem I might have. I am sociable and able to go meet people and make friends quickly, who undoubtedly help me move safely in other countries. I am able to communicate my thoughts clearly, both verbally and in writing, which although is not often thought about regularly, it is something that will often make a strong impression on people, and will help my future movement both in travel as well as in my career. While I have not always been as confident or capable as I am now, I aim to at least maintain the capabilities I have now or improve upon my social skills in the future.

There are many things about me which can affect my movement wherever I may go. Some of them may help me along, and some may hinder my movements. Some are things that will change, while others will remain constant throughout my life. There are also some aspects which I have absolutely no control over, and some which I have most of the control. I have learned to work with the advantages I have because I really love to travel, and wish to continue the expansive movement around the world that I have already attempted to set in motion. I have many opportunities to move in nearly any direction I please, and I hope to take advantage of as many of these opportunities as I possibly can.

What in the World is Going On?

November 30, 2009;
This month's discussion revolved around a few large questions about government. The big topics of the night were about how large a government should be and how much it should be involved in our lives. There was a debate right off the bat about the definition of government size, whether a large government meant one with a large amount of people participating, which multiple separate branches, or one that had a lot of regulation over the people in the area it controlled. The United States government involves a large amount of people within its three branches, but the checks and balances involved in this setup slows down political processes and keeps the government from having too much control of the people. The Soviet Union in contrast had less people involved in the government, and everyone was pretty much in one unified branch. This government could still be considered large though because of the enormous amount of regulation it had over the rights of the people in the USSR.

The second half of the discussion was mainly based on how much involvement the government should be allowed to have in citizens' lives. There was a lot of debate over how far the government can invade people's lives to protect the country as a whole. The subjects of wire-tapping and the Patriot Act were brought up, and many people thought that this was too much involvement. There were also a few students who think that many Americans complain, but are not willing to go figure out what is really going on for themselves or get involved to help change things. The subject of insatiability was also brought up, and how not everyone can be satisfied, but everyone does the best they can for the good of everyone. This is inevitable since everyone has differing opinions so they can't all be satisfied. This makes government sometimes useless since there will still be arguments going on about the decisions made no matter what. There was a lot of debate, multiple viewpoints on most topics, good points raised, but not much agreement. It does get one thinking about government and what's involved, as well as what one person can do to help.

My Education, My Plan: getting from here to there

I intend to study at UNCG for all four years of my undergraduate degree. Freshman year will be mainly general education business courses, as it has been this semester. Spring 2010 is also mainly general business prerequisites. I am taking a somewhat heavy course load with 17 and 18 credit hours freshman year. As long as I van handle the work load I will be taking as many credit hours as possible per semester since I did not have any prior to college. Sophomore year I plan to take the two semesters of Spanish that I am required for a business degree. I also plan on starting biology in order to get a minor in biology by the time I graduate. These fields of study will be helpful to me in the area of business I wish to pursue. During the first few years I hope to get as far ahead as possible so that I can travel Junior year. I am considering a study abroad semester in the fall of 2011 in Argentina. I figure that South America would be a good place to go because I do not have any other means to get there than through school, and it would work well with the Spanish language classes that I have taken since middle school.

After my study abroad session I plan on taking a little time off to travel while I am still in college and before I have to get a real job. If I work hard enough beforehand and maybe take a few summer classes I'm hoping that I can manage to graduate on time even with taking a full semester off from UNCG. I would like to go spend some time working and riding in New Zealand. I few of my friends have done it already and said it was an amazing experience, and they can set me up with the same sort of situation they had. This seems like the best time to travel, because after graduation I will be expected to get a full time job and start supporting myself even more than I do already.

After returning from my worldly travels I expect to come back to UNCG to finish my degree by completing whichever courses are necessary to get the correct amount of credit hours to graduate. These will probably be mainly business courses that are more major-specific, as well as a few last biology courses to help me achieve that minor. Whether this takes two or three semesters does not really matter to me, as long as I can manage a degree in the area I wish to enter the job market - business administration. As long as I remain diligent in my work habits and stick to some sort of plan, this should work out the way I'd like it to.

I do not plan to attend any education after college, but would rather jump straight into the job market and try to start earning some money. After college my living expenses will increase, so I will need to find a more reliable source of income than I have now. I have travelled a lot already and have begun to grasp a fairly accurate view of the world, at least I think I have. My past experiences have already made me fairly well equipped to navigate the world around me, even when in an unfamiliar setting. My college education is meant to refine my business skills and ability to direct others. This education will hopefully help me get a job, and later develop a reasonable career.

Can Images Still Move Us?

This "Food for Thought" session discussed the lessened power in today's society, especially with our youth. A large eye-opener is that today we can view even real images of apocalyptic scenes and be completely unaffected, and expect them to be fake, whereas when moving pictures were first introduced people were afraid of a moving train. Today there is so much technology to create horrific scenes that everyone has become fairly desensitized to them, whether they are real or fake. The speaker put up many images on the overhead projector to try to see which ones caused an emotional change to people in the room. As different people discussed which ones had affected them the most, they all seemed to have a different image in mind. In some cases it was an image that I was completely unaffected by, but I guess the reactions the images cause maybe differ depending on one's own past experiences.

The majority of the scenes shown were of some destructive force. There were real images of a flooded town in Louisiana following Katrina and September 11, 2001. There were also many pictures of art or computer generated images like the apocalypse from that painter's perspective, Paris under water, and buildings falling in 2012. These images all brought out differing reactions, although did not seem to move us very much. What affected people more was when the possibility of destruction was demonstrated to them in real life. There were projects done in New York where dots were put on trees showed where the water level could be, which was well up over peoples' heads. There was also a project done in which lines were drawn along the streets showing where the new shoreline would be if there was major flooding. It was also very interesting to see what Brooklyn would have looked like if it had never been settled, and how much humans had changed the geological features of what land forms used to be there. This was probably the most interesting section on the discussion to me, because instead of purely fictional, like what is shown in the movies, I could actually see what would happen to real places if massive flooding occurred.

Sonia Nazario lecture

I attended the 3pm session on Sonia Nazario's discussion about her book Enrique's Journey. As much as I was expecting to learn something new about Enrique's trip or the author's own travels to write the book, I didn't seem to hear anything I hadn't already heard before. The main part of the discussion was merely an expanded repetition of the book's prologue, which of course every student in the room had already read for class. They displayed pictures of people she had met, other migrants, and Enrique and his family. Of course they were all very nice to see blown up large, but were mainly the same pictures that were in the center sections of our novels.

As opposed to really being a discussion about the main subject of the book, the relationship between mothers and children, and the sacrifices theses mothers have to make, it really just seemed like a pro-migrant speech to me. Sonia seems to want to make laws easier on illegal immigrants and to keep the police from being in contact with immigration officials. This was a bit upsetting to me since I have very different opinions on this topic, and do not wish to have someone attempt to sway my opinions when they are supposed to be discussing a novel. At the end there was a question and answer session in which some interesting questions were raised, but that was the only part that I heard anything new.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Saturday, November 14th, 2009 I went to see the college-run production of the play "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." It was somewhat different, I believe, than the movie. Having not read the book, I cannot really compare it to that. The actors were all very well-rehearsed and put on a great production. Some scenes were given a slightly comical edge and the characters themselves could be quite funny. The costumes were great, especially Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. In comparison to the few high school theatre productions I have seen, it was very well done and very organized. The sets were great, with an amazing wardrobe that the actors could travel through.

The plot is about 4 children who find another world by travelling through the back of the wardrobe when they are bored. They find a winter wonderland with mythical creatures and a feud between an evil witch and a great lion over control of the land of Narnia. The Witch sought to gain control of one child, Edmund, in order to capture the other 3, Peter, Susan, and Lucy. If she could turn them all to stone then they would not be able to fulfill the prophecy and she could retain control over Narnia forever. She was the reason that "it was always winter, but never Christmas!" The lion traded his life in sacrifice in order to return Edmund to his siblings. Magic allowed him to return to life since he sacrificed himself but had done no wrong. Afterwards the children help fight against the Witch and her followers to help out the lion and fulfill the prophecy. They rule Narnia until they decide it is finally time to return home to their real lives.

Architecture of Happiness

This week's "Food for Thought" session was led by Dr. Patrick Lucas. He discussed how buildings can be either happy or unhappy. Buildings' happiness can generally be decided by three broad ideas; commodity, firmness, and delight. Commodity is how well a building suits its purpose. Some buildings are not laid out very well for the purpose they are meant to serve. The Bryan building is not very commodious because it can be like a maze to navigate through, especially on the upper floors, and every corner seems to look the same. Firmness is how well built the structure is. Many of the buildings on campus are very structurally sound, as can be seen by the styles of some them, that they are very old and still quite safe to be used. Some other structures have had issues with incorrect construction, and have had to be repaired to keep them safe enough to be used. Delight is whether the building allows the person using it to be happy while in its presence.

Delight in itself has such a broad definition that it is hard to determine whether or not it can be said about a specific building, as it is up to the interpretation of the user. A building may be delightful to one person, and not at all so to another. Some may view Moore Strong Residence hall as being like a jail because of the cinder block walls and similar looking hallways, but to others it may be somewhat delightful because it is their home and also the home of many of their friends. Patrick showed us how everyone can have a completely different definition of delight by having everyone choose a picture that made us happy from a collection that he brought. Every person had a different image, and also had a unique reason as to why that image made them happy. These different reasons for happiness also come into effect when people are deciding if architecture is indeed happy or not.

"If John Keats Had Twittered: Expressions of Love in the Age of Facebook"

In this session of "Food for Thought" Dr. Lollie White and E.D. Kennedy discussed how communication in the form of letter writing used to be the social norm, and how it has been replaced by today's new technology for both young and old. Dr. Lollie White is a large fan of John Keats and described how much he wrote to his love, Fannie Braun, and the efforts he went through to stay in touch with her. Dr. White told about how important it was to her, even today, that she receive a written letter from someone as opposed to an email. Taking the time to handwrite your thoughts to someone, especially a significant other in the form of a love letter, can be so much more special to someone than just sending an email of facebook comment.

Kennedy took over the second half of the talk and gave her view on today's new technology. She has no problem with the many new ways to communicate over larger distances, but prefers letter writing herself. Kennedy does not wish to learn how to use computers and email, and still maintains active communication with old friends in Texas through snail mail. She also talked about how important letter writing was during war time, and how that was her only way to communicate with her husband while he was in the service. He felt sentimental enough about all the letters that she wrote to him, that he saved them all, and now she is able to look back on what she wrote to him so long ago, and regrets not having kept the letters that he wrote back to her.

The speakers polled the students listening throughout the discussion about how they communicate with others these days. Very few actually write letters anymore, and many use facebook. Few students had twitter, but many have used skype before. The speakers had not heard of skype before, and were very interested to learn about a way to video chat with others, even those overseas. I feel that as important as communication is to me, online sources are great for urgent messages that need to get to someone quickly, or random thoughts that are fairly unimportant. After sitting in on this discussion I am somewhat inspired to write a letter to those who are important to me and see what happens...

"Food for Thought"

Wednesday, October 14. Food for Thought
This week's talk was about studying abroad in Peru. There was also a brief venture on the speaker's trip to Chile, but her study abroad experience was in Peru. She discussed the accommodations she had, the university where she studied, and some of the experiences she had in a foreign country. Some of the places she visited were very interesting, including Incan ruins and local towns. The people she got to meet influenced her in many ways, and she got to interact with students not only from Peru, but also from many other countries. Their common language was Spanish, and being thrown into an environment with very little English helped improve her foreign language greatly.

There was also some discussion of how affordable and entirely attainable a study abroad experience is for any student who wishes to go. I myself would be interested in going to South America, especially since my foreign language from high school is Spanish. I may be looking more at Argentina though, and maybe make a trip to see some Argentinean polo ponies.

Immigration Story

Nana and Aunt Jane, second generation of Italian Americans in my family.

My Great Grandmother immigrated from Italy to Ellis Island, New York...

She and her family settled in Princeton, NJ, although many other Cifelli's from the same town in Italy settled in various other parts of the state. Most of my family members are in the US and we do not communicate with any relatives that might exist back in Europe. My family members brought some aspects of their culture from Italy with them, such as special recipes and the need to cook for anyone and everyone. Easter is a big holiday, and large portions of family members get together, and all eat "Easter bread" that is a special recipe that has been passed down. Another important food is beets, which are like fried doughnuts. I believe this food is particular to just my family, and not just a general Italian recipe.

I do not believe that my family ever intended to return to Italy after being in the US for a short amount of time. Since the members who immigrated are all deceased and their remaining children are in their 90's, not many people really know the reasons for immigration or intentions after arriving. The family members have blended well into the American society, while still keeping some of their own traditions. My grandmother is still obviously Italian in many ways, especially in her cooking. She makes a lot of pasts, meatballs, and sausage. She insists on feeding anyone who visits and always makes sure they have had plenty to eat before leaving. The next generation however, is very Americanized and does not outwardly display any Italian traditions or do anything special for holidays. My family's culture does not have much in the way of religion and has no requirement for a place of worship in the home.