Kayla's Corner

It is sad to think that after so many years segregation is not over when it comes to where one can live. If someone asked, I would have never guessed that "the Detroit metro area remains, by some measure, the most segregated in the nation"(Wilkinson). Now as I think about it, I realize it is somewhat true. Living in Troy my whole life has been like living in a bubble. I never really think about how other communities just past the edge of Troy are so separated. Living in such a diverse city has created an unrealistic view on how the rest of the metro area and even the country is. I guess I've always known that certain cities have a large population of one nationality. Such as Detroit and Pontiac having a mainly African American demographic, but I always thought it was because they preferred to live with people of the same background. I'm starting to understand that there are other factors that play a role, and they can do nothing about it. In the article we read in c...

A lot of times I think that what I learn in school is unnecessary and that I will never use it. I constantly think to myself, how will this apply to anything in that future? and when will I ever need to know this in the real world? Even though I still think a lot of what we learn is pointless and a waste of time-especially math- I am beginning to realize and make connections from knowledge I have gained in classes with other things like the passages we read in english.  While reading queer analysis if the Great Gatsby,  I was able to apply things that I learned in psych to further understand where the author of the perspective was coming from. When the author shares how Nick repeatedly "goes out of his was to be sure we see him as an active heterosexual" he is using defense mechanisms. This is a term I recently learned in psych class. They are tactics that reduce or redirect anxiety by distorting reality. Nick is using two defense mechanisms to show that he is not gay, He ...

Gatsby is a mystery, and has been since the beginning of the book. At first, we didn't even know who he  was. Gatsby was just a man who starred out across the bay mysteriously, threw huge parties, and was  thought to "have killed a man once"(Fitzgerald 44). As the book moves forward, the reason behind some  of his actions are uncovered, like why he peers across the bay, the reasons for his parties, and how he  came to be, but a lot is still unknown about the real Gatsby.  Even the things learned may not be one  hundred percent true. Gatsby shares a lot about his  past with Nick like how he got his money, but his  story does not add up. He would not be living on  West Egg if he was telling the truth. Which makes on  wonder, what will be discovered about Gatsby next?  And how will one know with certainty that it is real?  I feel like in the 1920s not knowing someone truly was  very c...

Hagar is talking to Milkman in her head, as she puts on her new clothes and makeup. Why don't you love me? I have been here since the beginning, waiting for you and only you. What is it Milkman? Is it my skin? My hair? It must be. You know I can change right. I can be more like the other girl with the "Silky hair the color of a penny"(Morrison 315). I'll do whatever it takes. I'm putting all this makeup on for you Milkman. Do you like the sunny glow? There's not enough? I didn't think so either. It's okay, I'll put on more. How about the lipstick? Yes? I thought you would. I picked out jungle red just for you. I have to go show myself to my mother and grandmother now. Don't worry Milkman you'll get to see me soon.     After Hagar presents herself to Pilate and Reba and realizes how she actually looks.  How could you lead me on for so long Milkman? And make me believe I could possibly be good enough for you. You never cared for ...

People are like dominoes, they will stay the way they are until someone pushes them to change. Dominoes will only fall if something makes them. A lot of times people are unable to change on their own. Its not because they're physically incapable, but rather that they cannot see that what they are doing needs to be fixed. They are to caught up in themselves as humans naturally are. They need someone to give them a wake up call or intervention so they can finally realize what they are doing needs to cease to continue. Toni Morrison illustrates this through Milkman's conversation with Lena. Milkman is so used to thinking the world revolves around himself that he can't see how his actions are affecting others negatively. Lena provides the much needed wake up call by enlightening him on the many reasons he has caused pain for everyone in his life and why he needs to straighten up. She shares with him how his whole life everything has been done for him. "When you slept, we w...

Sometimes I feel like people don’t realize everything the slaves helped America accomplish. At least I never fully understood the extent they contributed to making America what it is today. When reading the article,   The sugar that saturates the American diet has a barbaric history as the ‘white gold’ that fueled slavery ,  in class I was shocked to learn that the labor the slaves put in caused the economy to grow exponentially due to the selling of sugar, which ”America provided for 1/4 of the worlds sugar”(Muhammad), and cotton. If it weren’t for the slaves, America would not be using the products to the abundance it does today, and the market would not be where it’s currently at. Although I think we would have still used the products today by getting them one way or another whether it was through imports or doing the labor ourselves, I think the quantity would be no where near what we have now. It wasn’t all the rich white men who made America what it is today, although th...

Everyday I see articles and stories in the news, and almost everyone has images attached. When I see the photos they look real to me, and I tend to believe what they are showing me. That's their purpose after all. To persuade people to think a certain way. But how am I supposed to know if they are real?! Technology is so advanced that "photographs can be tampered with"(source D) and people won't be able to tell. Recently, news outlets have been using fake photos to persuaded people to believe false things. It caused a huge uproar when people learned that the images were not real. The truth was uncovered this time but most of the time it isn't. How many times out of ten is the public being shown fake images by the media. Images are supposed to persuade people to take action to prevent events from happening in the future, but how are people supposed to know that what they are trying to stop from occurring is actually real. The truth is that everything is so politica...