Issue in Community

Gabriela Allen           

September 27, 2014

Professor Young

ENGL 1100

Essay #2

Laundry Room backups

            Every community has its own issues and problems within it.  Our college has a few but my biggest issue is the laundry room and the machines.  Do you remember sharing a community washing machine and dryer in college?  You share it with a whole hallway and sometimes within the hallway are a lot of people.  There are multiple problems with the laundry between the residents.  There are not enough machines in the laundry rooms and there are always people taking other peoples clothes out before the time is up.  Also, sometimes people aren’t always there to pick up their wash when it is done. 

            I believe there are not enough washing machines and dryers in the freshman dorms.   I know there are other dorms that have two of each machine and time management is kept up well so there is never really a problem with machines being open. At least two of each should be given because there are so many people on the floors that many people always end up waiting to get their clothes washed.  Waiting for a washer or dryer to be open feels like an eternity at some points.  My hallway shares our laundry room with the boys on our floor also so that’s twice the amount of people.  We all know girls have a billion more items to wash than boys do!  It is always hard to find a time to use the machines because they are always taken so having that extra machine would be such a great advantage for our whole floor.  Even people from other floors in our dorm come up and use our washing machines because theirs are never open either.  Therefore, that causes more issues for us too. 

            Another problem with our laundry room is that people are taking clothes out too early when they aren’t even their clothes.  There was an issue at one point when one of the guys took out our RA’s clothes before the timer was up.  In Valerie Kinloch’s essay, she proves points about gentrification.  Gentrification is the act of pushing someone out of something or a community.  This relates to the laundry room problem because you are basically pushing someone out of the laundry room b  How would they like it if someone took their clothes out to early?  I’m sure they would not like it at all.

y taking their clothes out too early.

            There is always a solution to every problem.  An easy solution to the problem with the laundry room is getting a sign in sheet.  Whenever you put your stuff in the dryer or washing machine, you put the time you started and your room number.  Therefore, if your wash is done and it is still in one of the machines, the next person to use the machine can give you your clothes if you don’t realize they are done.  Another rule can be that once someone’s wash is done and you want to put yours in, give him or her five minutes to get their clothes out.  If they don’t get them in five minutes then you can take them out.  Our RA decided to make this a solution to our own hallway problem.  She started it about a week ago and I have noticed a good improvement.  Everyone uses the sign in sheet and waits the amount of time needed.  Talking to someone about a second washer and dryer would still be a good idea so it is even less of a problem for everyone.

            In conclusion, our freshman dorms have problems with the amount of machines we have for laundry.  Knowing this is the biggest freshman class at Fairleigh Dickinson, don’t you think someone should have thought about the amount of people that would need to use the machines to do their dirty, smelly wash?  There is always a solution that can be found with a problem.  My hallway in Hamilton found our solution for our problem and it is working.  Even the boys follow the sign in sheet rule!

           

           

            

Kinloch's Response Questions

Gabriela Allen

September 24, 2014

Professor Young

ENGL 1100

Harlem, Art, and Literacy Response Ques.

1.“From architectural designs to cultural activities to the role of local communities in civil rights movements, urban places and spaces are rich in history (147-148).”  The meaning of this sentence is that that communities all have different shifts of change throughout the years.

2 The significance about 125^th street in relation to this essay is that it is located in Harlem and that is where the essay is taken place.  It is a hangout area for most of the community.  A famous hangout spot in my town is where many of the restaurants are located.  There are always people there just hanging out.  And it is always somewhere to get something to eat.

3. 

4.  The meaning of this sentence is that it makes sense of the world.  It is saying that    you are exploring the meanings of freedom in this specific setting, which is Harlem.

5. Kinloch wants his community to be a clean community that people will enjoy visiting.  Khaleeq shows them a housing department that has significance to him he just does not say it.  My town at home h=is a small town but there is a field that has always been there since before I was born.

6.   The use of digital documentation gives the reader a good picture of what they are actually talking about.  Some people would rather visualize getting the greater detail.  The use of video helps to show my community but I also could have written my response well enough without the video.

7.  The questions Kinloch closes her essay with all have to do with the community of Harlem.  It is trying to figure out the leadership of this community and where different things h=came from that made this community what it is now.

Place I spend most of my time

Gabriela Allen           

September 21, 2014

Professor Young

English 1 1100

Place I spend most of my time

            There are many places I spend most of my time.  The number one place would be my home because that is where I am most comfortable.  I am surrounded by hundreds of people that I know and am close with.  Hearing cars speed down our busy road like they are racing a car, doesn’t even bother me anymore, it’s like a normal noise.  My parents, Mike and Michele make our house a homey place to be.  Seeing the white house and cars in the driveway makes me happy when I drive down my street.  The large backyard, where my dog runs around until she can no more is what I like.  The best thing about being at my house is laying in my bed and feeling the softness from my mattress after a long day.  I live right across the street from my cousins so are like sisters because we spend so much time together.  I don’t have a specific spot in my house that I spend most of my time.  I generally just spend time at home with either my friends or family, whomever is there.  Fall and the spring turn the trees into orange leaves like a pumpkin.  My house is a comfort zone for me, where I don’t have a care in the world of how I act or how I look.  I get a warm feeling in my stomach when I walk in the door and smell the aroma of my house and the food if my mom is cooking.  I like to be around my family because someone is always laughing when we aren’t fighting like dogs.  My brother, Michael and I have learned to grow a bond since I have gotten to college and I don’t know what I would have done without his annoying self!  Home is also my favorite place to be because it is what shaped me to be the person I am.  Being in my home is almost as calming as being at the beach. 

McBride's, "Hip-Hop Planet"

Gabriela Allen           

September 21, 2014

Professor Young

English 1 1100

“Hip Hop Planet”

            At first, McBride did not really like hip-hop and rap and was not a fan of it.  Eventually he got used to it and began to like it.  Music is part of your identity.  It shows people they type of person you are by what you may listen to.  There was one rap group, the Last Poets that McBride did not really like.  He had stated how he had been scared of them at first.  “They scared me.  To black America, they were like the relatives you hoped wouldn’t show up at your barbecue because the boss was there”(McBride).  He believes that hip-hop is now starting to turn into socially conscious songs and he begins to like it more.  He starts to believe that the lyrics coming out of their mouths are a fantasy.  All of the violent words and lyrics are not reality to the artists; they are just trying to make some money.  Not only does McBride give his perspective on hip-hop and rap, but he also does a good job at using RENNS.  Using this to describe the lyrics of this genre of music gives the reader a clear understanding of what point McBride is trying to make.  Eventually he gets over the fact of the lyrics being violent, just because he realizes some of it isn’t entirely violent.  Also some of it may not even be real so it makes a difference.

            

Essay on Identity (made changes)

Gabriela Allen

September 17, 2014

Professor Young

ENGL 1100

Essay 1: Identity Final Draft

           

           

            Many different people have a different kind of way that shows other people who they are.  Human beings all have different identities that have a value to the way they are living.  McBride and Anzaldua both had shown different examples of the ways identity may be shown.  Both of these authors show the different ways their identity shows how it lets people know where they come from.  The authors show how important identity is towards life and how it could affect you.  I agree with McBride and Anzaldua towards the fact that identity is very important. Identity is an important aspect towards your own life. 

Identity is your own personal traits that make you the person you are today.  Your identity can come from where you grew up or whom you grew up around.  Your identity is what tells you who you are.  It give you an open mind on how you act the way you do.  They way you dress is a big factor when you’re going to school because most of the time someone could be judging you or praising how you dress.  You dress for yourself and it shows those classmates the type of style you are into.  Identity includes all of the physical aspects of your life, the way you act, how you may speak, and the way you may react to different situations.  You gain this identity all throughout your life from your parents and peers.  Identity is based off of how you were raised and where you came from.  The area you grew up I also am a big part to what makes up your own personal identity.  Different things that make up your identity are your physical features, your emotion, and nationality, how you speak toward an adult versus someone your own age, and a socioeconomic status.  A lot of your identity comes from your parents and ancestors.  They were the starting block of the life you live so without that you wouldn’t have the identity that you have.

            Anzaldua in her essay, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” shows different aspects of her identity and what she thinks of it.   In her essay she speaks of the different languages and how that is part of someone’s identity.  How you speak usually defines where you came from.  “Wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut off (Anzaldua 246).  This specific quote from her essay really stuck out to me.  It is saying that you cannot control the way people speak.  They speak their own language and the only way you could stop someone from speaking the language that defines them is if you cut someone tongue out.  Realistically, you would not do that.  It gives someone the ability to speak what is on their mind in their own way given whatever custom and culture they may come from. Language is also a learning experience for those who may not hear different languages all of the time.  It gives you an idea of where someone you may have just met, came from and how they may celebrate different celebrations.   Language is an important part of your identity and Anzaldua really proves her point throughout her essay.

James McBride does a good job at describing how important identity is because he shows how curious he is as a child to know where he came from and what makes him, him.     His mother was white and he was not so he was always wondering why he was not white to.  He was always asking questions as to why they weren’t the same color or questions like if her parents were nice and loved her.  He wanted to know all about his elders and why he was made the way he was.  He was interested in finding out his own identity, which is important to a lot of people.  McBride, because he was a different color, would get made fun of.  He had basically beaten someone up and that shows a little bit of his identity.  The way you may react in these types of situations shows other people the type of person you may be.  That’s why my parents have always taught me to be respectful so then you get that respect back in the long run.

            James McBride and Anzaldua both do a good job of showing how important identity is in many different ways.  I agree with their main point in these essays because your identity is an important thing to know.  It is what makes you who you are.  Your own identity is the only thing that can give you ideas of where you came from.  Another person’s identity would not be capable of proving where you came from.  It comes from you.  McBride wanted to know where he came from and Anzaldua did a great job on proving how language was an important part to someone’s identity.  Personal traits are what make up your own identity.  McBride and Anzaldua do a wonderful job on showing how identity is important towards your life and how it makes you a better person inside and out.