Audience Brainstorm Post

7 Possible Audiences:

1. Teens, young adults (ages 12-18?)
2. Parents, guardians of teens/young adults
3. Local government (the mayor, etc)
4. Teachers, schools
5. Local businesses who can donate facilities, services
6. People who can offer their own time as mentors or volunteers (working people, older people, college kids)
7. People in a position to donate money (business owners, local newspapers, etc.)

Top 3
1. Teens/young adults
     Pros: The program will be designed for them, they will be the ones benefitting and participating,                    they are who the social change is for
     Cons: Most won't want to participate, broad interests, large age group, how to present it to them (text, video, exposure)

2. People who can offer their own time as mentors or volunteers
     Pros: can offer guidance, can give kids advice and lead them in the right direction, can be paired up with kids of similar interests
     Cons: how can you screen good people from bad?, such a broad group, how do you go about finding these people?, how would the time be organized, what would be expected of these people, how formal the style?, how to target them (writing, speaking)

3. Local businesses who can donate facilities/services
     Pros: It will help them gain business and enhance their own ethos (win-win), easy to present (conversation, approach), less money spent on our end on space and services
     Cons: How much would be asked of them, what exactly to ask of them, what businesses?, what do we offer them

WINNER: 2. People who can offer their own time as mentors or volunteers
     Pros: can offer guidance, can give kids advice and lead them in the right direction, can be paired up with kids of similar interests
     Cons: how can you screen good people from bad?, such a broad group, how do you go about finding these people?, how would the time be organized, what would be expected of these people, how formal the style?, how to target them (writing, speaking)

Applying Ethos

I've always hated when people ask me, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Not only is it a loaded question, but to be honest, I was never really quite sure what exactly I wanted to be. 

Up until fifth grade, I went to your typical middle-class suburban school. All the mothers stayed at home, all the girls wore Limited Too, and I had an afro and an independent, full-time working mom. Needless to say I never really fit in. When those kids were asked what they wanted to be, they answered with the inspiring dancer or professional baseball player, but this didn't really faze them- they didn't have to worry, they could be whatever they wanted. The variables weren’t going to be a hardship for them; they were comfortable. 

From fifth grade on, I went to an inner-city magnet school, in which I finally felt at home. There was diversity, there was blending, and most importantly, there was acceptance. But when we, as 13 year olds, had to submit to the yearbook our answer to the question of what we wanted to be when we grew up, we answered with the same dreamy answers as the fifth graders I previously mentioned. Except fast forward to now, two years later, when a significant amount of those kids, the ones with the big dreams, have gotten into situations that took their dreams and hid them out of sight. The kids who two years ago I saw as the future president, or next leader of reform, or idol basketball player, have lost their sights due to lack of stimulation and encouragement, and also opportunity. 

If there were more programs for inner-city youths that provided an outlet, a support system, and guidance (and maybe was fun, too), less of us would have been derailed by the temptations of being curious and exposed. Having seen both sides of the spectrum (the side where if you were sidetracked, that it was okay, because there were people and opportunities to get you out of it, and the side which is less pardoning, where one slip can send you down into a rut you can’t get out of), I realized that it’s not the (obvious) money that gets you to where you want to be, although it does help, but rather the exposure to positive influence and encouragement, which is something we need to take responsibility for. We as communities need to establish programs to stimulate our youth and push them into the right direction. But in order to do that, we need to ask ourselves what do we want to be when we grow up, because those kids who day by day loosen just a little more of the grasp on their dreams are the future, and they deserve an equal playing field. 

Applying Pathos: The Broadcast

I can't imagine the number of times I've seen an incoherent mother crying on News 12, seeking justice for her 16 year old son who was the vicim of a hit-and-run, or her 13 year old daughter who was caught in the crossfire. I'm sick of it. Partially because I realize that the next kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time could be one of my friends, but more importantly, and less selfishly, because I see such a sense of community in my city, but their efforts concentrated in all the wrong places. Those with the means and connections need to be aware of the fact that we have such a strong body of young people, but are not helping them reach their full potential, or encouraging them to put a piece of themselves into the world.

 I have a proposal, which I don't think is too unreasonable or radical, or will even break the bank (however I do understand funding is not exactly easy to come by in our current state); I believe we need more community outreach programs for inner-city teens, ones which they will actually want to be a part of. And no, throwing a "rager" this Friday night doesn't count. Cultural field trips, sports, mentoring, socials, exhibitions- anything is welcome in my book. We just need something that gives young adults the idea that they have worth as human beings, and encourages them to pursue what they can contribute (positively is the key word here) to society as a whole.

 As members of the community, we have a duty, one that we are not fulfilling, to give our youth the tools to become active contributors of individualism and capable of bringing positive change for everyones future. Imagine how different your life would have been, or at least your youth, had you been exposed to culture you wouldn't have otherwise been, or encouraged to reach your full potential. I can guarantee you we would have a more productive, positive, innovative, successful society. I know that if at a younger age I had been given opportunities to participate in my community, and  to have been a part of something positive, I would have formed lasting relationships and found my way in life (which I still am realizing) a little earlier.

Furthermore, we need to come up with solutions to get teens off the streets and into a more positive, encouraging enviornment. The mothers sobbing on TV, the candles and balloons lined along street corners, the wholehearted teddybear shrines, the innocent, young lives gone in the blink of an eye, and the communities and families left to cope are exactly what I never want to see, ever again. So rather than waiting to  recover from the next tragedy, let's work towards never seeing one again.

Kincaid Blog Imitation

Original text:


"Again, Antigua is a small place, a small island. It is nine miles wide by twelve miles long. It was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Not too long after, it was settled by human rubbish from Europe, who used enslaved but noble and exalted human beings from Africa (all masters of every stripe are rubbish, and all slaves of every stripe are noble and exalted; there can be no question about this) to satisfy their desire for wealth and power, to feel better about their own miserable existence, so that they could be less lonely and empty-a European disease. Eventually, the masters left, in a kind of way; eventually, the slaves were free, in a kind of way. The people in Antigua now, the people who really think of themselves as Antiguans (and the people who would immediately come to your mind when you think about what Antiguans might be like; I mean, supposing you were to think about it), are the descendants of those noble and exalted people, the slaves. Of course, the whole thing is, once you cease to be a master, once you throw off your master's yoke, you are no longer human rubbish, you are just a human being, and all the things that adds up to. So, too, with the slaves. Once they are no loner slaves, once they are free, they are no longer noble and exalted; they are just human beings."

Kincaid (80-81)

My Imitation: "Teens are people, too."

Sometimes, when he is particularly bored, he goes out. The day is when his street is a personal heaven. It is spilling over with sun and children. Not too soon later, once the sun goes down and it's dark, those who wish him no good emerge for their familiar game (you know who i am taking about, the drinking they glamorize and the bad things they offer; there is no better way to put it) to get him as their friend and brother, to convince him he is having a  good time, so he believes that these people actually care about him- so he thinks. He, like many others, is a teen with nothing; teens, for the most part, have a kind of nothing. I don't necessarily mean needy, I mean that they have nothing to do (and if such a program that I am going to suggest exists then I sure haven't heard about it; but really, let me know if it does), and teens should be encouraged and given immense opportunities, we're the future. I have an idea, and a few small suggestions, that rather than reporting tragedies about our youth, that we broadcast youth making a difference, and in order to do so, we need to provide exciting opportunities, ones teens will want to attend, ones to keep them from the dark street. I, whole-heartidly, am proposing just this. Teens need to be offered more, and not more drinks, but more opportunities for a bright future; because teens are people too. 

Olivia Melendez

Stuff That Bugs Me

 Media/Culture

1.      How unrealistic movies are- two people bump into each other on the street and fall madly in love, the girl who no one sees as at all, and miraculously triumphs to become Queen B.

2.      The TV show Sex and the City- it demonstrates all  negative stereotypes against women- a woman isn’t complete without a man, all women care about is shopping and designer clothes, women use sex to get what they want.

3.      That TV shows about teenagers don’t actually use teenagers- they use beautiful sex-symbols in their 20’s and early 30’s!

4.      That Teen Vogue doesn’t appeal to the average teenage girl- all the clothes they show in their spreads are far out of reach for the average middle/lower class teenage girl.

5.      More diverse models, please! Why not African-American, Latina, or Caribbean girls? We’re just as pretty!

6.      Healthy fast-food alternatives! The cheeseburger is $1 and the salad is $5.50. And we wonder why our obesity rates are so high.

Daily Life

7.      More community outreach programs for Bridgeport teens. The reason why we see more and more tragedies among our age group is because the only place they have to hang out is on the streets. More programs, please!

8.     A more personally tailored Big Brothers and Sisters program. We looked into the program for my brother, and they said the for the first meeting, the mentor had to take him alone. When we expressed that my brother might not be so comfortable with that, and if for the first few meetings maybe they could just play video games or basketball at our home, we were told that wasn’t an option.  

McMahon/CGS

` 9. How our school pushes college, but does little to prep us for working life. A senior internship program would be great. I’d like to have a taste of the workforce before I'm actually plunging into it.

10.      The lack of communication! We need more communication between the office and the students. I’d like to know about college tours and SAT courses before the day they start.

11.  The price of gowns- there need to be alternatives for more affordable prom dresses, and ones that are actually in style. Not every one can spend $600 on a dress for one occasion, let alone a dress period. Maybe establish a school dress-buy-back program?

12.   The lack of community in CGS. We need more CGS communal activities. Sure, we have potlucks, but only when exchange students come. We could have mixers, or movie nights- anything to make the end of the week exciting and have something students can look forward to.

13.   The lack of places to sit and read in my local library. Sure, there are tables (sitting in the middle of the main room, I might add), but big comfy chairs and couches would be nice, too.

14.  And lastly, the lack of World Literature throughout CGS. Yes, we have the class, but once were out of the room, that’s it. I would love to create a book club tailored around World Literature.

Because I Said So

Olivia Grace Louise? Melendez

         The story goes, well the story I've heard only one time before, that on the day I was born, my father was watching Grease, and when the credits rolled, saw Olivia Newton-John's name and decided, "That's it, my first child is Olivia." Ironically, I've never actually seen Grease in its entirety, but I know the gist- high school drama, a musical, iconically American, Look At Me I'm Sandra Deen. But like I said, I've only gotten the Olivia Newton-John version once. All the other times when I've asked why I was an Olivia, mostly out of preteen angst when I felt so deeply that I was someone more mysterious and dark, Violet at the time, I've gotten more or less the "Because you're name is what it is." 

         I've never really been an "It is what it is" or a "Because I said so" kind of girl. Not that defiance is particularly at the top of my to do list, I've just always approached things differently. 

         You see, the question mark at the end of Louise, which seems like a sloppy-not-proofread-done-the-night-before mistake, is actually deliberate. My mother is a born-and-raised Roman Catholic, so I in turn grew up going through the motions of Catholicism: the Baptism so big, people thought it was a wedding, the First Holy Communion equally as over the top, and more recently, the Confirmation, where as an up and coming member of the Church I got to choose a name. But at the time, I was completely aware I still didn't know who I was; so another haphazardly chosen name got added to the line. 

         But even more recently, as I've been finding out who I am and who I want to be, I am slowly breaking down the "Because I said so" names that label me, even the one that I chose, and molding them into my own. The last thing I want to do is follow in the footsteps of my name, which I honestly do love, and live a life without questioning the way things are, or worse, a life in which I accept "It is what it is" as an answer. 

         So far, Olivia, to me, means determination and self-assurance. Although officially defined as peace, its elegant simplicity reminds me everyday that that is exactly what I don’t want to be- simple. It inspires me every time I write it at the top of a page to put all I have into whatever I do, because I do not aim to be simple, but instead memorable. And Grace, which regrettably doesn’t always get spelled out every time I write my name, reminds me to become my own Olivia with, well, grace. To always be sure, but never cocky. To be humble, yet not self-deprecating. As for Melendez, not only does it add an unexpected Spanish flair, but it also carries my family: wild, unapologetic, loud, loving- my family.

         So, next time you’re watching Grease, don’t think of me. Next time you see Olivia Newton-John on TMZ, please, don’t think of me. Instead, further along the line, when you see what I’ve put into the world, think of not my name, but me, because I said so.