The author feels the pain, and so does the one who reads. The author expresses happiness in the literary piece, and the reader feels the peace. Writing allows us to right the wrongs and write what's right. Storytelling allows us to speak for the silent and be heard. Both of these creative forms of expression allow us to connect on a human level. These ways by which we convey our feelings, state the facts, and articulate our stances based on experience or second hand knowledge are grounds for human growth through multiple perspectives. There are three things that I put a compelling amount of value on when it comes to learning through these medians.
1) Listening: Listening to other people's perspectives and being willing to hear the other side of a story is what shapes our comprehensive outlook on life. It is easy to talk to people who share the same values as you as confirmation bias is a natural thing we all look towards as way to reassure ourselves that there are people who are on the same side. This is great, as similar views are what spark compatible relationships. However, if you are not willing see things from all different angles, your knack for empathy will not be as sufficient because you don't know how to relate to someone from a different background. In fact, if you do listen to all perspectives, while at the same time not be afraid to have your mind changed but also have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, you are more likely to be able to connect and network with more and more people no matter what background.
2) Read books that challenge your views: This is very similar to the first point, but adds the emphasis to CHOOSE to allow new information to revamp your thinking. Putting in the time on your own to read and gain insight on issues you previously were unaware of, or simply reading to gain more knowledge on a topic of interest will always be of benefit to you and your life vision.
3) As Michelle Obama once said, "everybody has an unseen history." At a first glance, when you first meet somebody, all you see is their physical experience. You do not see who they are until you begin talking to them and building a relationship. Just because there are some correlations among stereotypes, doesn't mean that persons physical appearance is in line with how they act. You can learn so much from other people and what they've seen, you just need to break the first barrier of judgment based on what you physically see. Word choice and actions are huge determining factors of somebodys character so don't assume somebody to be a certain way until you see how they talk to others and how they act.
This last class, we had a lot of people present on their extraordinary persons. Many of these EP's were parents and grandparents, and it was heartwarming to see the emotional connection people had to their relatives. It was amazing to hear about immigration stories, how people came from nothing and made something of themselves, and selfless determination to make the next generations life better than what theirs was. The spectrum of cultures that was covered through these presentations was vast, and I felt like I learned a lot about people who have completely different backgrounds than my own. I value listening to all stories, and this is something that I put a lot of effort into going out of my way to hear them.
1) Listening: Listening to other people's perspectives and being willing to hear the other side of a story is what shapes our comprehensive outlook on life. It is easy to talk to people who share the same values as you as confirmation bias is a natural thing we all look towards as way to reassure ourselves that there are people who are on the same side. This is great, as similar views are what spark compatible relationships. However, if you are not willing see things from all different angles, your knack for empathy will not be as sufficient because you don't know how to relate to someone from a different background. In fact, if you do listen to all perspectives, while at the same time not be afraid to have your mind changed but also have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, you are more likely to be able to connect and network with more and more people no matter what background.
2) Read books that challenge your views: This is very similar to the first point, but adds the emphasis to CHOOSE to allow new information to revamp your thinking. Putting in the time on your own to read and gain insight on issues you previously were unaware of, or simply reading to gain more knowledge on a topic of interest will always be of benefit to you and your life vision.
3) As Michelle Obama once said, "everybody has an unseen history." At a first glance, when you first meet somebody, all you see is their physical experience. You do not see who they are until you begin talking to them and building a relationship. Just because there are some correlations among stereotypes, doesn't mean that persons physical appearance is in line with how they act. You can learn so much from other people and what they've seen, you just need to break the first barrier of judgment based on what you physically see. Word choice and actions are huge determining factors of somebodys character so don't assume somebody to be a certain way until you see how they talk to others and how they act.
This last class, we had a lot of people present on their extraordinary persons. Many of these EP's were parents and grandparents, and it was heartwarming to see the emotional connection people had to their relatives. It was amazing to hear about immigration stories, how people came from nothing and made something of themselves, and selfless determination to make the next generations life better than what theirs was. The spectrum of cultures that was covered through these presentations was vast, and I felt like I learned a lot about people who have completely different backgrounds than my own. I value listening to all stories, and this is something that I put a lot of effort into going out of my way to hear them.