Writing Prompt
Your English class has just finished Unit 1. In this unit, you and your classmates explored the concept of personal and social identity while reading a collection of poems, spoken word, short stories, nonfiction, and a TED Talk. To conclude this unit, you will write a multi-paragraph personal reflection in which you explore how the texts from the unit served as a window and/or a mirror into your own identity, leading you to a deeper understanding of the first question of the unit, Who are you?
Sample Response
When we were first asked in this unit, “Who are you?,” I answered with general responses including white, female, reader, and athlete. To be honest, I was just following the example we looked at in class, without really stopping to consider what each of those identity markers meant to me or for my experience in the world. For the most part, I do not always critically examine what makes me, me. Through the readings from the unit and by looking at others' experience, I feel like I have come to examine my own personal identity more deeply. "Hair" by Elizabeth Acevedo was a mirror to my own experience as a woman facing certain beauty standards, while Judy Heumann's TED talk made me reflect more critically on my own identity as an able-bodied person, something I often take for granted.
Reading "Hair" by Elizabeth Acevedo was a window into the challenges that Black people face, especially when it comes to their appearance, as well as a bit of a mirror to my own struggles with beauty standards. The speaker in "Hair" hears messages from her own mother and those in her community that she needs to fix her hair which she knows to mean "straighten" and "whiten" (stanza 1). As a white person, I recognize that I will never fully understand the experiences of Black people; that being said, the poem served as a mirror for me, making me reflect on my own relationship with my appearance and how societal pressures have impacted the way I see myself. I have struggled with accepting my own body and appearance. Unlike the speaker of the poem, who embraces her hair while others want her to change it, I have wanted to and changed my appearance to fit into society's unrealistic beauty standards, sometimes in an unhealthy way. My personal struggle with my appearance has much different implications than the discrimination the speaker faces in "Hair." Black girls and women face discrimination both in schools and business for race-based hairstyles and textures, which the CROWN Act is trying to fight against. So, I am not trying to equate the two experiences but instead recognizing the commonality in them. Overall, I was inspired by the speaker of "Hair" who exudes self-love and acceptance. She also pushed me to be more critical about the messages I receive about beauty, considering what they are and who they are coming from.
Judy Heumann's TED Talk about her disability and the audio excerpt from her memoir were a powerful window into an experience that is vastly different from my own. As someone who does not have a disability, I was moved by the many challenges that Judy and others with disabilities face on a daily basis, from physical barriers to social stigma. One of the stories that stood out to me most was when Judy was denied a job because she couldn't walk, as if that had any bearing on whether or not she would make an excellent teacher. In fact, her TED Talk is a perfect example of the amazing teacher she must have been. Her story made me realize how much I take for granted the privileges I have as an able-bodied person, both in my ability to physically move through the world —like easily accessing buildings or using public transportation—and in avoiding doubt and discrimination from others based on my physical ability. Another moment that struck me was when Judy shows in her memoir how Hollywood has perpetuated the idea that being disabled is a burden or a tragedy. As she demonstrates, her life has been full of rich experiences and gifts not in spite of being disabled but because she is disabled. As she says, any one of us can become part of the disabled community at any time; how would we respond to that? That question has really stuck with me as I continue to reflect on my identity as an able-bodied person and what that has meant for me in my life so far.
"Hair" and Judy Heumann's TED Talk were just two of the texts that encouraged me to confront some aspect of my identity, either as a window or a mirror into my own experiences. One of the first lessons from the unit was thinking about which aspects of our identities are visible and invisible. From the various characters and experiences we read about, I kept coming back to the idea that so many of us are like icebergs, with most of what makes us who we are below the surface. With that knowledge, I hope to be more empathetic to other peoples' identities and to listen to their stories.