Communities...

After reading the various responses to this assignment, I believe I have a better idea of what I want to say. I never realized that "Community" could apply to so many things. I'm a part of many it would seem. The republican community of Chisago county, the community of the town of Wyoming MN, the community of venture scout crew 007, the community of homeschoolers, of the college campus in Cambridge, of Tutors at the campus, of my family and extended families, of the heartland express riders, and of the residents of our state and country. I'm a member of the community of Wyoming Lions, of the community of Grace Church Wyoming, and of more incidental interconnections between people. I am quite active in most of my communities. I originally restricted my view to our little town. I won't make that mistake again. My community, that of Wyoming MN, is, as every town is, not a community, but the center of a web that extends from here to New Jersey to China to the Philipenes to Chisago city, Lindstrom, the Twin Cities, New York, Los angelas, and many other places contining people who are connected to those who are connected to others right here. We're not just a suburb of Forest lake, we pre-date that town. But we're connected. Just as Wyoming melds into Forest lake, so Forest lake melds into other places and so on. How do you define a community? You can't. But we're all part of them.

Too close. . .

As I walked through this week, I considered the dilemma I am now faced with. The dilemma is, interestingly enough, the assignment. No, it’s not because I don’t know who to talk to or what to ask… on the contrary, the opposite is true. The assignment was to use the guidelines provided by a journalistic site on how to learn more about your community. We were to take what we learned and apply it by posting a blog entry that speaks about what we learned. But here’s my problem: I’m too close. I can’t speak upon what’s happening in Wyoming Minnesota because my family is in an odd place. Were I to go into what I learned about what’s happening, anything I say could and might be used against me or my mom. (Or others involved in touchy situations I have been asked not to mess with.) That’s politics for you I suppose, but the fact remains: We are, in many ways, the go-to people for many of the issues for our city and county, and we personally know many of those who are active in the community, be it in the role of public servants, politicians, those involved in service organizations such as the Lions or the Boy Scouts Of America. What have I learned about our community? Not much by following journalistic guidelines… but what I have learned, I cannot say. I suppose I could put this under being a responsible journalist. Not everything that is learned should be revealed. I believe that there is a time and a place for the truth to be revealed, and a time and place to protect others by letting a subject rest until the time to speak comes. Like insider trading, it’s just not fair. So for now, I’ll look for what I’m allowed to speak upon and let classified information remain classified.

The consequence of conserving words

Greetings, I'm Holly, in case you haven't read that already. I know this falls more under philosophy and life issues and such than what we're really aiming at in this class, but, since this post isn't one of our required ones, I think I'll indulge in my natural habit of musing. Recently, some conversations I've had have caused me to reflect on the atmosphere of our beloved Cambridge campus. Why is it that so many of us are isolated? Everyone minds their own business, that is, unless they know some other people. I wonder, is this because some people know each other from high school? Or perhaps through other means? Perhaps it is, in part, because there are so many people who are unsure about coming to college, that they're self conscious. Perhaps we all are. I know that I am, even if I do try my best to hide it. But here's what I have found: the more I worry about it, the more self-conscious I fell. And the more nervous I feel, the less likely I am to crack through my shell and truly make friends. Everyone seems to mind their own business, as a friend of mine said. So he retreats and stays within his shell as well. The friend I speak of is Hudson, an international student from Africa who came here to get the education he needs to make his home a better place. He pays twice as much, is ineligible for financial aid, and, on top of that, could be sent home at any time due to the fickleness of our government and the nature of such things. But that's beside the point. I've been thinking upon something he said: "In Africa, everyone minds every one's business." Not as in gossip, but like we used to be. That sense of community that used to be present in our nation long before I arrived upon this planet. And, understandably, he's lonely. Because he's different, we're intimidated by him. It's not racism, but that always present fear of the strange that rests in each person towards those they don't know, be it toward someone who's obviously different in a visible way or simply someone who melts into the background that you simply feel unsure about speaking with. I am, I admit, rather afraid of others. I push past it, but it's there all the same. In college, it's as if we're all afraid of each other. As if, when we do something wrong, everyone will turn their backs on us. Like every one's a potential threat. Is this the case? Are we afraid of something as insignificant as the opinion of others? I'm not sure how many others feel this way. It might just be a select few who feel out of place. I don't know. But I'm not going to worry about it again, if I can help it. So come out and talk to the person sitting next to you in class, smile and sit with strangers in the lunch area, take a chance and talk to someone you don't know for a change. This isn't high school, the dynamics aren't the same. In college, we have a chance to leave all of that social fear behind and start anew, even if some of the people are the same. Let them be self conscious and wary if they want. We're not responsible for the attitudes of others, but for our own and our own actions. So act! Who knows? You might make a friend. You might learn something. You might be surprised at how friendly everyone is. And, at the very least, you make this thing called college a little less stressful and isolating for someone like Hudson or Holly. I think that's worth doing. Any thoughts?

voices

Greetings, I'm Holly Grams, a student at Anoka Ramsey Community college, at the Cambridge Campus. As far as my interests, go, I won't bore you with them, because there are too many to list. As for other traits, well, you'll simply have to hear my words or meet me in person. Description nearly always falls short of the fact, especially when it's yourself you're attempting to describe yourself. But, let's move on. I have made my intro, so now I intend to dive into a more interesting subject. ( at least, it is for me. ) that subject would be voices. If you're wondering what I mean by that statement, that's natural. It's a statement designed to make you think, to make you curious, to open your mind to what I'm about to say. What I mean is that, out of all of the people talking, out of all of the voices speaking online, in the papers, on the television, and, frankly, everywhere, what separates the good from the bad? What makes a voice worth listening to? True, we all have our faults. We all have our assorted biases, our aims, our varying, often opposing worldviews and philosophies, not to mention our natural laziness when it comes to the subject of media. Even when we find something worth looking at, it's hard to take the time and effort to sit down and dig through the text. Of course, we need good writing and visuals to show that it's someone who cares enough to put work into whatever outlet they speak through. Whatever it may be, it's that something the eye and mind searches for to show that it's someone who knows their stuff, an expert, instead of some common college kid doing a school assignment, or a hoax. I'll give you an interesting example of that later, once I find the time. (and if, of course.) So, how we choose depends in part upon the quality of the presentation. True, we might miss some good stuff because of this, but we do this, mostly because we see what low-quality websites look like and don't want to waste our time on them. but what about the actual content? What causes a few voices to resonate more clearly than the multitude of speakers we passed over with a quick glance? And, if a voice does, indeed, merit attention, who's to say that that voice will ever be heard among the thousands of others who say the same things remixed that you hear everywhere? As for me, it's a question I've long pondered. And I'm not sure I have a solution. I would be lying if I did. But I would say that that is one of the dangers of our age and, indeed, of the Internet itself. So many people say so much all of the time, and most of it, from what I have seen, is simply redundant. If you go to 20 news pages, chances are you'll see the same stories on almost every page. They're all saying the same thing, just in different ways. What would happen to media if we didn't all grab for the same stories and issues that everyone else spoke on? What would happen if we posted a subject that there were no links on, that we had to do all of the research by hand, sifting through obscure documents and interviews ourselves, what if we did the work before we took our right to say our piece and spout an opinion, not gained by secondhand info, but by first hand experience, instead of reading a few good sites or books and repeating what you heard in your own words? I intend to be a separate voice, if possible. Someone who works to find something worth saying and tests the truth of her opinion before burdening others with it and expecting them to take my word on the matter, when it's not my word at all, but that of others, and even they pulled it from somewhere else. True enough, I don't expect to succeed. I know that there's no way to avoid it, and I welcome the opinions of others, they often catch what I would miss, but that, I think, will be my aim in this class: To speak separately. Now to live up to those words... that's my problem. Let's see if I can do it.