A Meeting With Representative Dave Trott

I'd like to start by giving a extremely large thank you to Representative Trott and Marla Rondo for making this experience possible.

Today, for those of you who don't know, I had a meeting with the representative of Michigan's 11th District, Dave Trott. And, while I felt sick to my stomach for the entire day leading up to the meeting, it turned out to be one of the most gratifying experiences of my entire time at the Washington Journalism and Media Conference. Months ago, back when I was just starting the WJMC preparation process, I signed up for a meeting with my Representative by the encouragement of the conference. I had never attempted anything quite like it before, and without the nudge WJMC gave me, I probably would have never gotten to experience it.

Representative Dave Trott is a Republican who lives in Birmingham, and it is currently his second term serving in Congress.

I received this photo from Trott's official congressional website

The meeting began easily. I walked into his office, shook his hand, then sat down in one of two leather chairs. He started off with a few questions about me--asking about school and where I wanted to go to college.  During my time with Rep. Trott, I got the chance to ask him a few questions.

I wanted to start out relatively simple--I know he probably wasn't nervous, but I was petrified. An ice-breaker was the perfect thing to warm me up. I began by asking him about opportunities like WJMC, and whether he thought it was important to get experience away from home before heading off to college. He agreed whole-heartedly, even giving an anecdote about the son of a friend he has interning in D.C., and how much he grew because of it.

I then moved on to ask him about what students like me could do to serve our community. Rep. Trott explained that while public service looks good on a college application, it is also very important to participate in community service works and charities that you have a passion for. These are the most gratifying experiences, even more so than looking good on a resume.

My transition into more political questions becan with an inquiry on his start in politics. Representative Trott explained that he had always had an interest in politics, and that he had decided the now or never moment had come. When Kerry Bentivolio held office before him, Trott explained that he didn't feel Representative Bentivolio was the "right man for the job". I expanded this question by asking him what young students interested in politics should do to enter into the field. He insisted that it is most important to "have a plan" and get involved. He advised high school and college students to start small, and explained that most people don't just pop onto the scene and win a congressional race. He told me that a student should "look at who you aspire to be" and to basically do what they did. However, he warned that not all plans go right the first time, and to have a plan B, and maybe even C, he joked, for when plans go completely awry.

From here I asked my first big policy question: What is your stance on charter schools?
Rep. Trott explained that in some cities such as Detroit education is going in the wrong direction, and having the opportunity for kids to attend charter schools in the city helps to "raise the bar" and provide competition to these school districts that aren't preforming well. He mentioned that Betsy DeVos has looked at how the scores of charter schools are doing so much better than those of inter-city schools, and that the data doesn't lie. However, Representative Trott did acknowledge the other side of the argument. Charter schools are filled with children whose parents were dedicated enough to their child's education to send them to a better school, and, Trott conceded, this may be why scores are better in charter schools than in Detroit. It is simply because the students are better students, getting encouragement from their parents along the way. He simply believed that students should have the opportunity to attend a charter school if they so please.

By request, I inquired about Rep. Trott's stance on Title II Net Neutrality.
Trott explained that he doesn't believe that this will make the internet any "less free or secure", and that many people are making a lot "to do about nothing".

I then asked Representative Trott on which aspect of healthcare he believed was most needing to be changed.
Trott explained that one of the most important things he would like to see change was cost. He believed that no matter what plan was sent out by congress, whether it was the new Senate bill, the Affordable Care Act, or any other, that none of them could work without driving the costs down. He mentioned the price of prescriptions and that they cost less in Canada than America even if they have been produced inside the United States. Rep. Trott also acknowledged that an important, though uncomfortable, issue America needs to start talking about is "end of life issues". He believed that this is an important key to saving millions on healthcare inside the U.S.

I also took the time to mention the current happenings in Mosul, and whether Trott thought this was a move in the right direction in defeating ISIS throughout the Middle East.
Trott agreed that Mosul was a move in the right direction, but he doesn't expect ISIS or terrorism as we know it to be eradicated in his lifetime. He is "not too optimistic", as ISIS will now become, he claims, even more fragmented and therefore harder to defeat. He told me that while he completely understands why people would leave their homes feeling as if they have "nothing to live for". Trott feels it is this sense of purposelessness and disenfranchisement that leads many to commit acts of terror; Trott believes this disenfranchisement will continue, turning many down the dark path of terrorism.

I finally decided to ask him about his political future, and I enquired about any aspirations for higher office.
Representative Trott told me about his time as a businessman, and his work on foreclosing houses. He explained that while he would love to seek higher office, he understands that many people are upset with him on this issue. Representative Trott does not believe he could win a state-wide election, especially when so many people have been left feeling hurt about his line of work. He informed me that there were no plans to run for higher office in the near future.
I then finished the interview by asking him about his one goal as representative. If he could accomplish one thing, what would it be?
Representative Trott told me that he was very passionate about GSE reform, especially with his background in real estate, and that he would hope to help find a "long term solution". But, as that would be a group effort and probably not his own plan, he also provided a different example. As District 11 has a large Armenian population, Rep. Trott expressed his hopes that one day he could get Turkey to recognized the  massacre of 1.5 million Armenians for what it was, a genocide. Trott told me that being able to accomplish that would be a great pleasure, and even jested that a statue might be erected in his honor.

All in all I had an amazing time speaking with Representative Dave Trott.

WJMC In Action

Today at WJMC we got to do something I've never seen before. Sure in school I've had set times for group assignments, but the journalism simulation we ran today was something different and at some points exciting.

The simulation started off as most school assignments do, we were separated into groups--except those groups were new networks. We, as loyal reporters for our network, had to report the four leading stories of the day--which were fabricated events purely for educational purposes (my first ever official disclaimer, look at that!)--in the way the network would. Every network group got the same stories, whether they were CNN, MSNBC, OAN, The Huffington Post, Buzz Feed, The New York Times, or one of the many others. I received Fox News.

Once a group received their network, it was off to the studio. Different rooms throughout the JC Building were set up like news rooms. A giant FOX NEWS sign was posted on my conference room door, and today's home page was projected on the screen.

Out of the four stories we were given: a tweet from President Trump, a story about all VA hospitals closing, Trump's approval ratings being at a record high, and the Secretary of State's resignation, we decided that the SOS would be our top story.

Our job was to compost a minute and a half script containing camera directions and images, as well as compose three tweets for Fox News' twitter page. About twenty minutes into the simulation, our world flipped on end.

Kim Jung-Un was pronounced dead by the North Korean Government.

We had to scrap everything we had to report on the breaking news story in front of us.



The entire activity was fun and action packed; I had never done anything like it before.



The rest of the day was full of speakers, but tomorrow we are headed back to D.C. where I will meet with Michigan Representative Dave Trott. We then have a Gala later in the evening. It is sure to be an amazing Thursday.

WJMC Day 3: Speakers

Today at WJMC I listened to what felt like a week's worth of speeches. (Maybe that had a little bit to do with the fact that I fell asleep not only on the way to D.C., but on the way back from D.C. as well.) In any matter, the line-up was packed. Revered speakers and journalists such as Rene Marsh, the Aviation correspondent for CNN, her sister Michelle, a local journalist for ABC, David Culver, a local anchor for NBC, Brian Lamb, the founder of C-SPAN, White House correspondent April Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy, the movie critic who you may remember from this iconic interview, were some of the many amazing voices I got to listen to today. (Warning, the video is uncensored, I couldn't find the censored version...)
The day was packed.
Probably my most favorite part of the day was being able to be the closing speaker for David Culver, and getting to thank him for joining us today. It truly was a once in a life time experience to be able to shake his hand up on stage in front of over 300 people.
The experiences won't end there, though. In the next couple days ahead I will not only get to run a journalism simulation, testing the bias in networks throughout the country, I will also get to meet with my congressional representative Dave Trott in his Washington office--an daunting experience I still can't believe is going to actually happen.
As the day was mostly speeches, I don't really have any fun stories or anecdotes to share with you, but I just thought I would check in and let you know how the conference is going.

Some pictures from my time today are below:

Kevin McCarthy:

 Brian Lamb @ The National Press Club

WJMC Newseum, Day 2

Okay, so I'm writing this post really late. Reaaaaaallllllyyyyyyy late. One thing I learned about WJMC very quickly, is that the action never stops. My morning started bright and early at 6:45, and even now, over sixteen hours later, I'm still writing this.
Today's lineup was relatively full, and visits ranged from the Newseum, to the monument tour, to listening to more of the fine speakers D.C. has to offer. As the stars settle into night on this seemingly packed day, the lime-green schedule for tomorrow seems twice as long.
While today's attire was relatively casual, as I ended up wearing my Conference T and jeans, tomorrow is purely professional--I already have the outfits laid out. But before room-checks at 11:00, and before I can sleep, I just want to tell you about one of the most amazing parts of today.
The Newseum.

Now if you've never been to the Newseum, here's a little info. This museum is located inside D.C., and boasts a large collection of News history, ranging from Pulitzer Prize winning photographs, to newspapers back to the start of the colonies, and even breaking news stories brought to life.

In some of the exhibits, the emotion was a palpable thing. People were in tears looking at photographs. We stood in stunned silence staring at 9/11 wreckage. I traced my fingertips across the Berlin Wall in regret. It was amazing. I got to spend three hours between six floors and a basement full of history, emotion, art.

And if that sounds like an amazing day to you, it was only the beginning.

WJMC End of day 1

Look at that! I'm blogging twice in one day! Miracles, I know.

Anyways, the sun has set on my first day at WJMC (though it set some time ago now) and I am eagerly awaiting my first security check so that I may finally go to sleep. It seems that I am already succeeding in my efforts to make friends. While my subdued, wallflower efforts may have seemed awkward and standoffish at first, over hours of constant company I was able to wear my fellow Orange group members down. (To be know henceforth as the Tangerine Dream Team, or TDT for short.)
And as it turns out, the world isn't that big after all.
Today I met Alyssa, *cue music*, a Massachusetts swimmer. With my smooth conversation skills I abruptly interrupted her chat with a fellow correspondent--after acquiring all of the previous details, of course. I began mentioning how I also happen to be a swimmer, and that my old swim coach Nick Rice--Wait, he's your swim coach? Oh my God!

Okay, I'll back track.
From when I was 10 till just before I turned 13, Nick Rice was my swim coach for the North Oakland Waves, or NOW. After that year, Nick moved from Michigan to Massachusetts to coach a new team, HYV. (The Holyoke YMCA Vikings) He coached there for a few years before starting up with a brand new team, later to conjoin with Bluefish.

Alyssa, as it so happens, is on Bluefish.

The incident, I guess, just made the whole place feel a little more homey. The world, which mere hours before seemed so large--280 correspondents from all over the country gathered in one room, and I amongst them, completely stranded--shrunk in an instant.

All in all, I think it is going to be a really great week.

WJMC Check-In

I'm definitely not a social butterfly--hehehe. I know what you're thinking, but Aaaaannnnnyyyyaaaaa, you talk all the time! Sure you never show up for D&D or any other time we invite you to do anything on the face of the planet, but you have plenty of friends... And whhhhyyyyy would you go to a conference for a week with a giant group of people you don't know if you don't really want to meet anyone?
Trust me, I know.
The problem is, even though I'm not the best at striking up a conversation, or meeting new people, or that elusive new thing called "small talk" that everyone seems to be doing now-a-days, I want to meet people; I want to form relationships with people and leave this week knowing I made some amazing friends.
So after I checked in for the conference, picked up my Press Pass and met with my Orange Group advisers, I did the first possible thing that came to mind--I loitered around waiting for someone to speak to me. None of my roommates are here yet, even as I'm writing this in the dorm, a mere two hours until final check in, so I was left stranded without even the most basic avenue for friend-making, (being stuck in the same room with each other for an entire week).

Turns out, however, casting longing glances at other strays around the HUB as I play Ski-Ball, or Super-Smash, or even Black Ops II--all games I am relatively pathetic at--doesn't have the same affect that I was hoping it would. This is especially true when the people you're staring at, beckoning to them with some psychic "talk to me" signal, are doing the same to others around the room.
Finally someone sat down alone at the racing game near the other end of the HUB, and I quickly slipped in to join them. The game lasted all of three minutes, and after some stumbling introductions, we parted ways. She had left toward the Dunkin Donuts, leaving a half-hearted invitation out there for me to follow, but I turned down the offer. Instead I directed her toward the store, than sat back down on the leather sofas in front of Call of Duty. My first attempt at friend making ended not with a bang, but a whimper.
All-in-all, with the first couple hours of conference down, I still have plenty more to go. I just have to be willing to open myself up to new people and new experiences. I have to smile a little, and see what happens.

Pre WJMC

There are so many things in life I do not do because they take me out of my comfort zone. I go to bed early. I stay home instead of going out. I pass up opportunities that may help me grow as a person, or even just experience life. So while many people have questioned me about what I'm looking forward to most on my trip to WJMC, a conference hosted by George Mason University--I don't really have the right answer. I'm not looking forward to staying in a dorm with four people I don't know. I'm not excited about meeting my congressman Dave Trott. And I certainly am not happy about spending a week alone in a city I do not know. I'm not looking forward to it in the sense most people would. While I recognize the adventure of it all, I'm more likely to drop dead than jump for joy. I'm not going because I expect it to be fun, I'm going because I know it will be--as long as I push past the walls in my mind begging me to just stay home. I have never done anything like it, and I may never do anything like it again. If I want to get somewhere in life, I have to be willing to go somewhere.
So what am I looking forward to most? The answer isn't as simple as sight-seeing or meeting amazing people; it's so much more than that. I'm looking forward to living.

The Strange Addiction

For many of those much more passionate conspiracy theorists, those who claim Snowden is an American Hero (now seeking refuge in Russia), and that the NSA is evidence that the end is nigh, it may seem that Orwell's ominous prediction has come to pass. And while all of this is true, and some Special Agent may be currently surfing through my browser history looking for evidence of terrorism, the majority of Americans are not enslaved by the idea that Big Brother is watching us. (Unless they are on the TV show, Big Brother, of course.) No, our every move is not controlled by some ominous figure head, we are controlled by something much more tangible, and much scarier.

Our cellphones.

Everywhere you go now a days there will inevitably be someone on their cellphone. In fact, I am currently writing this on my phone, sitting in the stands at a water polo game, and I am not the only one paying more attention to my hand held device than the final quarter of the game, ( albiet the game isn't very entertaining, the score is 12-4). No one seems able to break their eyes away from the hypnotic glow of the screen. Even out with friends people spend more time on their phones than communicating to the person next to them.  When confronted, they'll give some lame excuse about how their being social "with other people", but then what was the point of spending time with these people?

In any matter, the evidence is clear, we as a people are plagued by this strange addiction. It is clear to me that while Orwell's prediction still lurks somewhere off over the horizion, this much greater evil has already taken hold, and we have failed to notice.

So before we lock ourselves away in fallout shelters to hide from our abusive government, we should first address the most prominent concern, and look up from our screens.

Night at the Museum

While some may preach that a museum's key function is to educate, (or preserve knowledge, or earn money, or any other singular way to approach the subject) those who look at it from only this perspective miss the point. While this objective is a noble task, as are the other aforementioned goals, a museum's most important task often goes overlooked. A museum should aim to wonder, to draw in a person's attention, to keep him staring at the same work of art for minutes straight as he considers each individual brushstroke. It should not be their sole goal to educate the public, but to garner an appreciation in them.
I think that Night at the Museum got it right, it brought artifacts to life in spectacular fashion. And while it may only be a silly franchise movie, and magical Egyptian tablets cannot really bring a T-Rex skeleton to life, each museum should try to create an atmosphere capable of such great feats, one that gets people thinking that maybe, just maybe, all of this could come to life. When a museum accomplishes this, all the rest will follow. People will learn about the past because of a genuine interest in it, they will explore new worlds and old ones, they will buy those little trinkets and key chains from the gift shop not because of rampant commercialism but as a memory of the past they visited once upon a dream.

A museum should not discourage imagination by claiming their noble mission to educate trumps all, and one should not assume that just because something is fun, we cannot learn from it. Breathe life into learing, preserve artifacts not only physically, but in the minds of those who behold them, and do not reduce souveniers to blatant commercialism, only filling the pockets of beurocrats and going no farther. A museum can be so much than the standard we are holding it to. So let it be.

The Golden Rules

P.C. is a phenomenon that has taken over our country-- everywhere from preschools to college campuses, from start-ups to retirement homes. Everyone everywhere seems to be looking for some solution to avoid offending others, going so far as to censor language, create safe spaces, and otherwise tip-toe around the rest of society.



There seems like a much simpler solution than going through all this trouble.

When we were all children we were taught a series of rules by our parents and teachers. Looking back they seem silly, just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo invented to keep us kids from tearing each others hair out. But what if there was some truth in it all? Well, let's take a quick review.

1. If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.
2. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
3. Treat others how you wish to be treated.

If we take all of these rules into account, the world would be a better place. No one would intentionally harm another with their speech, no one would say something they didn't mean, and everyone would stick up for what they believe in.

If we could only go back to how things were when we were five, if we could only remember the rules that were instilled in us when we were young, we could fix a lot more than a couple of silly insults and "you're stupids" coming out of a child's mouth.

Here's what I'm proposing, let's not change words, let's change attitudes. If we all just tried to be polite to each other, to act like civilized beings, we could change the world. So next time you go out in the world, take with you a few golden rules, everything else should fall into place.

Parcel 11

As we as a class reflected on the environment this past week, I began thinking more and more about a plot of land in our very city. On Tuesday I attended a School Board Workshop to fill my quota for AP Government. What I thought was going to be a couple of boring hours filled with mundane budget proposals a decisions such as whether the toilet paper in schools should be one ply or two, I was pleasantly surprised that while some of those things, the meeting also brought out a passion in this community I didn't even realize existed.

The first thirty minutes of the meeting were left open to be filled by public comments, the Board would not reply, just sit silently as citizens poured their hearts out in front of a microphone. The topic of discussion at this meeting? Parcel 11.



The little section of woods, about seven or eight acres, is going to be sold by the school board to create an early childhood development center-- basically a glorified preschool. And while I have no skin in the game either way, it seems many are strongly against this decision... and those for? Well they didn't even bother showing up.

I watched people cry over the birds, deer, and elusive Bald Eagle that may live somewhere within the parcel. I watched people argue over diminished property value, and the educational value of the woods. I listened to people in their fifties reminisce about playing in the trees, about watching their children play in them too.

Although I had heard about this issue a few weeks before attending the meeting from a friend on Facebook, I hadn't realized how big of a deal it was for the people directly effected. There are 795 supporters on change.org, I am now one of them, and the number is still growing.

It would truly be a shame if the government refused to listen to this outcry of voices, each one protecting something bigger, older, and purer than their self. The people are calling, it is time our board listened.

What a Girl Wants

Women are interesting creatures. Considered to be testy, irritable beings, Girls are also considered the fairer sex, more deeply attached to those, well, deep feelings. To many men the Woman is seen as a conundrum, something abstract, and no matter how hard many of them try, completely impossible to understand. It is true men live in a simpler world, one in which colors are duller and tasks happen one at a time. It's genetics, really.



Where in genetics though, is it determined that Women will live in a marked world and men can bounce around freely between them if he so chooses? Well, in the very base of it, chromosomes, those for Female, and those for male, are different. XX for Women, XY for men. In this case, wouldn't it be the man that is marked? Wouldn't he be doomed to a marked existence? That doesn't seem to be the case. A Woman is judged on what She wears, the amount of makeup painting Her face, and whether or not She chooses to smile at a stranger on the street. A man is judged when he decides to step out of the box, to flaunt his differences. When a man is marked, it is because he chooses to be.

But maybe that is where we have it wrong. Maybe the X is the marked chromosome. As Women, we only have one option, one world, we are marked. As men, however, two options are presented: one in the marked world, X, and one outside of it, Y. Where Miss, Ms, and Mrs, don't determine the contents of a Girls character, where the length of Her skirt does not label her intentions. It'd be an interesting place to visit every now and again, if only we had the option to.

Women in the Weight Room

The Troy High weight room is a place for pumping iron. Football players, wrestlers, and various other sport teams find their way to that sacred place nearly everyday, often supervised only by captains or a single assistant coach. When a group of girls find themselves in the weight room, usually once all of the guys are gone, they are met with suspicion.
As a member of the girls swim team, I often spent practices lifting weights, whether that be deadlifts, squats, rows or crunches. Usually the swim coach will reserve time for us girls to work out, and then he will accompany us there, helping us focus on form. One day, however, the assistant coach, a woman, came with a small group of us, instead of the head coach, to the weight room. Before we had been in the room five minutes, one of the football coaches poked their head in and demanded to know what we were doing. We explained the situation, but he still didn't seem satisfied. He watched us wearily for a few moments before heading back to the field.
Why is it so wrong to find a girl in the school weight room? You'll find girls swarming the public gym every day of the week. So what is so different between one and the other? Sure it might be unusual to see a lady squating 150 pounds, but she obviously has the skill and knowledge to do it correctly, especially under coach supervison, or she would have been injured a long time ago.

The real difference is gender stigma. When you think of a school weight room you think of jocks, of big muscular guys doing bicep curls with unbelievably large dumbbells. When you think of a public gym, you see girls in short-shorts jogging on the treadmill. But there are girls who use the weight room for weights. So step aside boys, it's our turn.

What Happens in Vegas

We've all heard the saying, "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". It alludes that Los Vegas is somehow outside of the real world, or that a quick trip to the Nevada Desert will transport you to a place where time and space are just laws, and laws are no matter. But aside from this otherworldly idea that is the Strip, Vegas is also home to a considerably questionable practice.



Vegas is the place of Bachelor and Bachelorette parties, where the happy couple goes to stay separated for one fantastic weekend, never to be spoken of again.

Aside from the more traditional practice of living out ones last days single in Vegas, many people find it the perfect local for the wedding itself. The faster, and the cheaper, the better. And with some of the loosest marriage laws in the country, these weddings are some of the easiest as well.

But these commercialized strip weddings, usually short lived, take the marriage out of a wedding ceremony. Sure, all you need is love, but when love is pulling up to the equivalent of a McDonald's drive through, standing out the roof of your white limo in a sweater and slacks, and repeating your vows as told to you from the guy behind the counter, is love really what you have? Go elope if a quick and easy wedding is what you want, at least you'll leave the courthouse with your dignity firmly intact.

If you love someone, how, when, and where you get married shouldn't matter, but it should reflect your love and commitment for that person. "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". So have fun. Spend your dress money on slots, lounge by the hotel pool, leave every silly, stupid, amazing memory behind, but you shouldn't have to leave your wedding behind there too.

Stepping Outside of Myself

I have never been out of the country. (I mean, I went to Canada once but that doesn't really count.) So I really have been quiet limited in my exposure to different cultures. Sure, Troy is a diverse city, but it is still a suburban town in the United States with a shopping mall and many well off families. I've never really gotten the chance to have a first hand experience with a culture so opposite of mine.

In truth, I've had quiet a sheltered life in that regard.

I've never been on the outside looking in. While I've found things other people do as strange, it was never so foreign to me that my mind could not grasp around the idea of it. Though I have studied the Aztecs and their ritual sacrifice, I never got the chance to see it happen. Though I have been through reservation land, I have never witnessed a Native American ritual. Though I have taken German, and through my teacher I have been exposed to even the most subtle of cultural differences, I have never been to Germany and lived as the Germans do.

I cannot imagine what it must have been like for the Natives when the English came to settle along the coast. What it must have been like for two cultures, sitting on opposite sides of the spectrum, to meet for the first time.

We cannot understand how different we are, until we step outside of ourselves.

My mom said that. And isn't that the truth? How I have lived my life so far has kept me from noticing, and appreciating, the idiosyncrasies of my own culture, and how it varies from others.

So now I imagine I am from some jungle tribe, standing at the doors to Somerset Mall in wonder. I see thousands of cars lined up in rows, I see shiny glass and light brick stretched up toward the sky, I see people, shopping bags in one arm, Starbucks in the other. I do not understand it, this magical, confusing sight. People staring at their phones, talking into them when hundreds of people surround them. It is beautiful and terrible. It is awesome and overwhelming.



For the first time I have seen my life from a perspective outside my own, and I do not know whether to be proud, or embarrassed. But I have stepped out of myself, and gained a deeper understanding of my own world from it.   

Wrestling with MY Father.

In class this week we had to read "Arm Wrestling with My Father", a piece by Brad Manning. While I went into the reading with little hope of any deeper takeaway, (I mean the piece is titled "Arm Wresting with My Father"), I came out of it in tears. As I read I found myself sinking deeper and deeper, until Manning's words could have been my own.

When I was young I used to play a game with my father, he's a wrestling coach so it was much to his strength, where he would lock his arms around me, and intertwine his fingers as tight as he could. My goal was to break this hold, and free myself from his grasp. I would giggle and smile as I tried, sometimes fruitlessly, to escape. At the beginning he would always let me win, after some struggle and squirming to be sure. But later, when I grew older, my efforts would grow meaner; it was no longer simple fun that made me strive to break his grip. I would win, but there would be no giggling, no smiles. Eventually the game stopped all together, and our relationship withered with it. I began to see his flaws, his misgivings, more than his virtues, and some part of me resented him.

I did not plan a falling out with my father. I do not consciously try to snap at him. But like our game, once fun and silly, where I would run back into his arms laughing, "Again! Again!" our relationship is no longer the same.

I wish there was some way for me to close this gap between us, to play the game again in that same childish manner, but I don't think there is a way. Surely we can mend our wounds, but I am grown now, neither of us are the same.

While reading the piece in class, the words could have been my own. And I cried because of it.

Disability on My Mind

In the piece "Disability" by Nancy Mairs, Mairs mentions how she never seems to find anyone on television or in commercials who represents her. She goes on then to explain how she's really just like any other women her age, and doesn't understand why advertisers or screenwriters might be put-off by putting a disabled person in their commercial or program. She finds their arguments less than sufficient, and goes on to rebuke them.
However, one thing she stated stood out to me. She said that whenever there is a disabled person on TV, their disability tends to be their main character point. But isn't that self contradictory? She is looking for someone to relate to on television based solely on one part of herself, her disability.
I am a swimmer, and it takes up a large amount of my time. You could even say it is one of the defining features of who I am, but I don't go around watching TV and saying that I can't relate to any of the characters just because they don't swim. Just like I can relate to a guy even though I am a girl, or someone with blue eyes even though mine are brown. If Mairs searches for those attributes she has in common with characters, instead of solely the presence of a wheelchair, maybe she'll begin to feel a little less underrepresented. Because really, the first step to inclusion, is trying to include yourself.
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