Relationship between a son and a father

In the essay, “Notes of a Native Son,” by James Baldwin starts off as a puzzled story and in the end it all makes sense. Baldwin relates the story between black and white America with his relationship with his father. There are many ways they relate. James making his father out as a negative person in this essay and how in the society he lived in made Black people understood as "bad" people.

Baldwin’s relationship with his father and the relationship between White and Black America had plenty of things in common. James tried making his readers believe that his father was some type of cruel person which he is not. The way this relates to a relationship between a White and Black person is because in his days people were inclined to perceive a person by what they heard in the streets. For example there’s a part in the essay where the media was influencing the way they looked at White people and how poorly they saw Black people. For instance, when Baldwin notice a black soldier fighting a white policeman, but later on the media said, “The soldier had been shot in the back, and instantaneous and revealing invention, and that the soldier had died protecting a Negro woman.” He’s clearly saying that the media change the whole story around and tried making the white policeman be some type of hero. This is why I believe that he had a lot of similarities with his relationship between his father and the relationship between White and Black America.

This essay should teach people not to judge others by their cover. How people get the misconception of what the media says and not everything is what it appears to be. It’s a life lesson and people should take in what Baldwin wrote.

Insecurity

In the essay I read, “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” by David Sedaris what I understood of it was that he wasn’t confident in himself. I believe no matter what the situation is you are always to be confident in what you do because you are the one that determines what others perceive you as, whether it’s if you are an intellectual person or not. Yes, sometimes people might make others feel dumb or as if you are not good at something, but then again who doesn’t make mistakes in life.

As I read this essay, I couldn’t help but think that perhaps David was trying to prove his teacher wrong. All she did was try to put him down since he didn’t speak French as fluently as she did. I believe sometimes tough love toughens a person’s skin. In the essay the teacher questions how well he knows French, but I believe the reason she does it is to make him self-confident in what he does or say. It’s true you shouldn’t be insecure about anything and at times people may be, but that’s when they need to realize that not everyone is perfect and to start believing in yourself first. For example, in my writing I was never confident in my skills. I realized that all the things I write aren’t bad at all but it took me a while to start building my confidence in writing.

In the end it comes down to not letting self-doubt get the best of you. You are what you make of yourself and it doesn’t matter what others may or may not think of you. Whether you think something is dumb or not, take the risk. Unlike David, when face with feelings of insecurity do not ever let anyone get the best of you.

Change is finally here!

Change is, “the act or fact of changing; fact of being changed.” (dictionary.com) On November 4, 2008, I was glad to finally be eligible to vote and be part of history. I remembered thinking finally my voice is going to be heard, my vote will count. I voted for Barack Obama because I was tired of seeing how the old ways weren’t working in our society. I remember waiting along with the whole world for the CNN News to say who our next President will be. For the first time in history an African American man was elected to become the new President of the United States. I was overwhelmed with emotions but I mostly felt a sense of HOPE. Yes, hope is the word that can describe how I felt. I have never felt so proud to BE AN AMERICAN. We the people are finally taking actions and initiating a change and I believe that we started yesterday, November 4, 2008, a whole new journey.