Hello, World Post
A Stand Against Big Bird
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“One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn’t belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?” –
Big Bird, Sesame Street
Why are creators of Sesame Street persistently instilling in us an eye for picking out the oddball?
By Big Bird’s command, we were obliged to identify differences, and identify them quickly, while we were still in diapers. We were tested on disparities in shape, size, color, number, and object. And what was our reward? Nothing tangible that would be of value to any three year old. We were merely left with the self-admiration that came with recognizing the oddball before the music stopped and our time expired. We were gratified by the creation of conformity. And that was enough for us. But is Sesame Street teaching our youngsters a valuable trait? Is the ability to detect the thing that has yet to conform a necessity?
Sesame Street teaches children the skill of identifying differences amongst things and people, which could lead to the conclusion that different is bad; and this young, impressionable, audience may develop a negative perception of things that look unusual. But we should embrace what is different and not be made uncomfortable by it. We should aim to preserve that which is different instead of throwing it out.
Big Bird’s trademark yellow feathers should be painted red. Shame on him.
As a mixed-breed of Asian ethnicities, I have experience feeling like “one of these things that just doesn’t belong” when I dance hula.
This
native Hawaiian art form has been my passion for the past fifteen years. I love using my hands, feet, and expressions to tell a story about the beautiful places, astounding events, and influential people of this isolated archipelago. Yet I am the outsider, a foreigner, a
haole.
Standing next to my hula sisters, I cannot help but compare my long, straight hair with their wavy locks. I cannot help but notice that my eyes turn into crescent moons on the surface of my face when I smile, while theirs remain whole and round. But I move just as gracefully as they move, I am as good a dancer as they are, and I love hula just as much as they do.
The only difference: I lack Hawaiian blood and the traits that come with it. I am physically different. I am an outsider.
Among the other girls, I would be the object Big Bird would identify as the oddball – the one that Big Bird would point to at the end of the song and announce as the discrepancy amongst the rest. Yet, despite the uncomfortable feeling this revelation sometimes causes, time and time again, I decide to stick with hula.
I cannot be intimidated by my physical differences, and I cannot abandon my passion.
Dancing hula is part of my identity. In that world I am unique, not just the
“cookie-cutter” Asian girl (academically inclined, sweet, soft-spoken, respectful of her culture, etc.). When I dance hula, I am a foreigner amongst the natives, but I am proud.
And so I constantly remind myself, in a cliché, motivational-speaker-style manner, that in situations where I am uncomfortable being seen as the outsider, I must hold strong to the idea that this is, instead, an opportunity to preserve the thing about me that make me unique. That is, I must ignore intimidation and be proud of being me.
This blog is for those of us who are unique, who are outsiders, and who are
proud of being us.
So let’s take a stand against Big Bird!
Profile Post:
A Wedding Blog?
Have I really found my blogging companion in a wedding blog? I was happily surprised to find this to be true.
Think Splendid is a blog dedicated to the business behind wedding and event planning. Liene Stevens, the author of this blog, runs Splendid Communications, a “digital marketing firm specialized in the wedding and event industries”. She sees blogging as a form of old-fashioned conversations, as opposed to a way of keeping up with the latest trends. Stevens uses this blog not only to discuss business ideas, but also to talk about people – what drives us and moves us, and what we know we are all thinking but are too afraid to vocalize.
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| http://www.fotopedia.com/users/scientik |
And that’s where I found our connection. It was like a forbidden love. Coming from two different worlds, our blogs were never supposed to meet. But as fate would have it, she had me at her first post.
In a post titled,
Waiting for the Rinse Cycle to Complete, Stevens warns her audience that “social media doesn’t turn a person into a hero or a fraud; it amplifies who they already are”. She writes that the truth about a person’s personality will come out in due time – there is no point in trying to hide it. Although this piece is short, taking up a mere four lines of text, each word resonates. And you can picture her saying this standing akimbo, the expression of seriousness worn professionally on her face. She means what she says.
Still, how does this post relate to my blog?
True, there is a lack of direct correlation, but her post made me reflect on my writing – I felt the need to re-evaluate the purpose of my own blog. If I am going to be discussing something that I am already so passionate about, will this medium of communication really amplify my feelings and make my stories and opinions seem too over the top? I don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill. Stevens’ post reminded me that I need to keep myself in check when writing, or else fall victim to becoming an “oddball, on steroids”, as one of her followers would put it.
Stevens also made me reflect on the (possible) difference between two seemingly synonymous words.
In
Being Yourself, Stevens makes the distinction between what is means to be “different” and what it means to be “unique”. In true, inspiring-sermon, shouting-from-the-pulpit fashion, she claims, “different is temporary and easy to duplicate”, whereas, “unique is you”. Others can mimic the things about you that are different, but they can never
be you.
Truly, a nice sentiment. But do I really need to take these two words as seriously as she?
I pondered my own interchangeable use of the words “different” and “unique” in
Hello, World. Though I understand her word usage argument, I will stick to what I wrote. The focuses of our posts are different, even though we end with the similar opinions. I use my own stories to explain why I am different (or unique, as Stevens would say) and that people who are different should be proud of what makes them unlike everyone else, whereas Stevens argues that everyone should aim to be unique.
Stevens obviously does an incredible job of making her readers reflect on their own lives.
These blog posts, tagged as topics of “Personal Development”, represent two of many posts on Think Splendid. At first glance, I could not quite grasp why Stevens would blog about such issues when her site clearly deals with her wedding business. But after reading some of her blog posts, I came to the conclusion that she writes these to remind herself to avoid getting lost in all the hustle and bustle of the wedding industry.
Although her blog is mostly professional and her examples and stories apply to her business, she writes in a way so that the reader can ignore the technicalities of her examples and make these lessons applicable to their own lives.
Likewise, I want to share some of my own experiences as an Asian hula dancer who doesn’t fit in with my native Hawaiian counterparts, and I want people reading my blog to find a way to connect to my story even though they most likely won’t share my experiences.
Voice Post:
Holly’s Words to the Wise
You would think there would be at least a handful of blogs out on the web that cover topics similar to mine. At least, that’s what I thought when I wrote my first post. I envisioned a whole group of people who felt like they didn’t fit in, all coming together in little cyber communities to discuss their experiences.
I was wrong.
I found a blogger who writes about issues similar to mine. Needless to say, I was excited. But as I read post after post, I found myself questioning Holly’s credentials – who was she telling me how I should act? I became slightly defensive. Holly’s confident (to the point of being bossy) “voice” caused my reaction and made me realize that this was something I would want to avoid in my writing.
Right off the bat, I was hit with a one-sentence paragraph around which Holly structures her entire post. This introduction sentence-paragraph is forceful and convincing – I had no choice but to agree with her. After all, who could disagree with a sentence like,
“Bullying is a bitch”, especially when written in bold lettering?
Holly tends to use these short, punchy sentences throughout her pieces, which give off a sense of confidence. She claims, very matter-of-factly, that people who are “different” will one day “rule the world”. She quickly adds, “Here’s why”, as if anticipating my curiosity or objection. With not a moment to spare, she explains her reasoning without giving me a chance to come up with an argument. Her rebuttal comes out fast and strong, and I am given no choice but to agree with her logic.
In this moment, I get the feeling that Holly is bossy – she cannot accept any opinion but her own, so she doesn’t allow the reader any time to formulate an ideas that contrasts hers.
These short, confident sentences also convey seriousness. The subjects Holly discusses (i.e. getting bullied for being different, not fitting in, etc.) are matters she doesn’t take lightly; and her voice complements the seriousness of these issues. Holly has opinions about how people should act, and had I been doing otherwise, I would feel guilty about my actions. Holly just has that effect.
Holly’s consistent use of conjunctions at the beginning of sentences adds to this perception of her dominating attitude. She often starts sentences, and even paragraphs, with words like “and” and “but”. She even goes so far as to begin a sentence with “because”, violating every rule about writing ingrained in us since the third grade. Beginning sentences with words that tend to come in the middle of a sentence call to my attention. They are red flags – discreet orders requiring my full attention in the next few seconds.
Holly waves many red flags.
Despite my desire to refrain from emulating Holly’s bossy demeanor, there are aspects of her voice that make her blog less intimidating. Yes, Holly has a welcoming side.
These blog posts seem very casual and relaxed, but not colloquial, written as if she were a college student giving a lecture to her peers. Holly refrains from using words or phrases that make her blog sound academic. Instead, she uses her own jargon, including words like, “kooky”, “weirdness”, and
“urbane sophisticate”. I realize this last term can seem a bit academic, but she uses it mockingly, which brings us back to her laid-back attitude. She also uses grammatically incorrect sentences and sentence fragments, such as, “It feels real good”, and, “What a sick and pathetic display”, reinforcing the casualness of her writing.
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Holly is also able to create imagery while remaining informal when she says,
I was able to visualize the stereotypical old, unmarried lady surrounded by cats in her tiny, musty home immediately; and yes, I thought she was strange. Holly also writes,
After reading the first half of this sentence, I got a feeling that Holly was saying something inspirational – like something you might hear in a sermon; but when she references water wings, I instantly pictured neon colored inflatables, causing the seriousness of this image to dissipate. Holly’s voice remains consistent - when she writes something that could be construed as professional, she manages to bring it down a few notches.
Lastly, Holly uses punctuation to accent her casual, non-academic speaking voice. The reader can essentially hear her speak to them when she says, “Don’t. Drink. Beer” (I envision hand gestures and a very serious expression), and see her take a second to gather her thoughts when she writes ellipses in the middle of a sentence.
Holly’s voice is multi-faceted – there are some elements that I wish to emulate, and some I can do without. She is bossy and confident, preaching her words-to-the-wise to anyone who will listen; yet she manages to remain casual when discussing serious issues, which ultimately caught my attention and drew me into her blog. Thank you for this lesson in voice, Holly.
