February 10, 2008

'Growing Up in the City'

For Assignment Video 1a, students in the Multicultural Issues class watched a video, "A Teen's Video of Growing Up in the City," about a young African-American teenager and his friends living in a dangerous neighborhood of Chicago. Students responded to six questions about growing up and being educated in such a challenging environment. Jessica's response met the target criteria for being articulate, thorough, thoughtful, academic, and well-written. Her example provides the class with the ideal effort in showing what they know and think about responding to the assignment.

January 19, 2008

Majestic, Alluring, Passionate

I chose this to be my image for my page because I think it represents not only my multicultural background, but also multicultural issues in general.

For one thing, this photograph brings together the black of her dress, the white of her skin, the brown of her hair, and the red of her fan. These are the colors typically associated with groups of people when discussing multicultural issues. By combing these colors in a simple still frame, the photographer combined vary different colors to make a beautiful work of art. Similarly, when people from different backgrounds come together, they too can do great things.

I like that the woman is dancing in the picture because to me that is one of the most passionate forms of expression. Multicultural issues are challenging and intricate, much like the steps of the flamenco dance portrayed in the photograph.

The woman in the photograph is majestic and alluring. She is demonstrating her passion. This symbolizes the way in which peoples from many different cultures feel about their own practices and backgrounds. By learning about others and the ways in which they show this zeal for life, we can better understand the multicultural issues that affect our world. Understanding that people demonstrate themselves in different ways can actually reaffirm the pride we have in ourselves.

Jessica Fay

A is for American,
     First and foremost

B is for Brown Eyes,
     Latin blood, of that I will boast

C is for Colombia
     The land of my mother

D is for Dancing
     A better time spent with family?
     Of that there's no other

E is for Education
     A must for my kin

F is for Fair and Freckles
     From my Mediterranean skin

G is for God
     To His will I succumb

H is for Hospitality
     "Bienvenidos" means welcome

I is for Indian
     Slanted eyes of the Cherokee

J is for Joviality
     Keeping my heart young, along with esprit

K is for Kiss
     A sign of friendship to display

L is for my Last Name
     From a long German one to Fay

M is for Middle Class
     Not rich, but not poor

N is for Nymph
     Petite women in the family for sure

O is for Ocean
     Born near one in Florida during Hurricane Isabel

P is for Philomath
     Learning has me under its spell

Q is for Quality
     I strive for the best

R is for Respect
     Because of my elders, I truly feel blessed

S is for Scotland and Spain
     Where my grandmothers come from

T is for Travel
     Seeing 13 countries made me who I've become

U is for Unique
     Yes, no one is like me

V is for Valedictorian
     My parents would not stand for a 'B'

W is for Wink
     No room in life to be a coward

X is for X-Chromosomes
     Having two of those makes me feel empowered

Y is for Yen
     Passion for life is a must

Z is for Zenith
     Accomplish my dreams or bust!

Jessica S. Fay
January 19, 2008