he had a dream.

In the year of 1963, Dr. King stood up in front of Lincoln Memorial to announce that “no, they will never be satisfied” if injustice will still remain, and that he “had a dream that all men are created equal.” He had powerful words, charisma, and ability to inspire people and influence those who were in desperate need for change to stand up and follow him to make a difference.

Dr. King's powerful voice was a "language that inspired change." His speech provided emotional appeal that connects with his people which builds up power and hope within them that the change will be made. His speech provided intellectual statements to awaken those who are unaware. Dr. king's speech gave hope to his people. He made sure that his people will never give up and to never let the white men discriminate against them. He never let his people down. He guided them with all his might and encouraged everyone of his kind, his brothers and sisters, to unite and stand against discrimination. His words not only inspired the black community, but the community of America as a whole.

His choice of location, in my opinion, symbolizes what America is all about. A land where “all man are created equal,” and gave a written “promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the 'unalienable Rights' of 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'” Lincoln who stood behind Dr. King as he spoke, once declared, “I leave you, hoping that the lamp of liberty will burn in your bosoms until there shall no longer be a doubt that all men are created free and equal,” and who neglected and hated slavery, “If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.” Why did the people of America at one point forget or completely ignore the teachings of the man that they all are inspired by? A huge sculpture of him was carved with pride which they named as LINCOLN MEMORIAL, and yet the people did not took his words into consideration. If Dr. King did not consider declaring his speech in front Lincoln Memorial, then I do not think that his point would be as strong as it did. Dr. King reminded the people of America what their leader Abraham Lincoln once proclaimed.

There is only a handful of people out there that has the courage to take the part of a leader. Dr. King is one of those rare people who had the courage to make a change and even say that he would be willing to die for justice to be made. Because of Dr. King, his people are now “free at last.”

你好吗? 您贵姓?

How is it like to not know how to reed and right? I’ve never really thought about it until now. If I were illiterate, it is like being in China or Japan. The Chinese characters would be like unknown symbols, just scribbles written everywhere; except the characters written above as the title. Those i know from taking a Chinese101 course last semester which reads, ni hao ma? (how are you?) and nin gui xing? (what is your surname? polite. Used when meeting someone for the first time).

If I were illiterate, I bet everyday would be stressful and it would be frustrating hiding a secret that I hope no one will ever find out. Sadly my life would also be very limited. Applying for a job would probably be a no-no, simply because I cannot fill out an application. I wouldn’t be able to get a good career since higher education is required. If I do make certain amount of money, how would I pay bills if I can’t even write a check? How would I even apply for a bank account?

If I’m hungry, I shop for food. Should I just grab whatever that has a pretty label on it and the ones I just saw on the television? How would I know if the product is bad for my health if I cannot read what it says on the label? Some food such as pickled radishes has warning labels on them saying that it contains an ingredient that causes cancer. My health would be at risk.

If I don’t feel good I should go to the doctor but I do not want to. I’m afraid to fill more applications that I cannot fill out. When visiting the doctor’s office, they would give out so much flyers or brochures to give you an idea of how to make yourself healthier or avoid certain things that are life threatening. But I wouldn’t be able to read those.  If I do get a prescription, it is important to not forget the doctor’s instruction of how many times I have to take a day. But if I forget, I might not take the right dosage to get any better, or worse get an overdose. What if a doctor asks me to sign something that I don’t even know about? I decided to sign it anyways thinking that it was a good idea to hide my illiteracy. Turns out the paper I signed were for a surgery that I don’t even need.

Traveling would be a butt too. I would be limited to a certain radius of location that I’m familiar with because I cannot read signs. If I wish to go further I would be completely lost. Well, we all can get lost, but it would be harder for me to make my way around. What if there are signs that says “right turn only” or “road block,” am I going to risk myself into car accidents?

If I were an illiterate parent, I would be heartbroken. If my child asks me to read a book for them, what am I going to say, “Sorry honey can’t read?” Of course I would not want to do that. I would want my child to have a higher education and achieve a good career. If my child finds out that I were illiterate, I don’t want him/her to think that education is not important and that it is okay for them to not consider it or not make it their priority. Of course I do not want me child to be in risk of becoming illiterate as well.

My intention of writing it this way is not to mock, but to simply question and get an idea of how it would feel like to be illiterate. A life of an illiterate person is very difficult, challenging, and they hide the secret for everyone to prevent embarrassment. Most people would call an illiterate person dumb, but most illiterates are quiet smart to find a way around the difficulties and at the same time hide their disability. Some are even leaders such as Malcolm X. He was able to influence the black community to follow his movement and whatever he felt strong about. When he wrote he struggled. He wasn’t able to write and express exactly how he feels or share his idea through paper. However, illiteracy did not stop him from speaking out other than a form of speech. He copied a freakin’ dictionary to increase his knowledge, just so he can write appropriate letters to governors and mayors.

Now, I would like to compare myself similarly to an illiterate person. I like to play the piano. When I play a song, it feels so nice. It’s like music comes out of my finger tips. I feel connected to the piece as I my body moves along with the song. But I consider myself “music note illiterate.” I am able to read a few notes (like elementary level), but I can’t read music the way I read a book. I want to be able to play a piece like how I can grab a random book and start reading instantly. When I do want to play a sheet badly, I always write the letter of each note before I play. As I write the letters, I say the acronyms over and over again, “Every good boy does fine. Face. All cows eat grass. Good boys does fine always,” throughout the whole sheet. It takes time and a lot of practice, but in the end it is all worth it. I wouldn’t want to miss the experience of connecting with a piece of music.

My struggle to reading music sheets is the same as those who are having trouble reading or writing a sentence or a word. It just takes a lot practice and motivation to get to the level that you want to be at. 

Critical Thinking.

“Oh No! I’m going to fail this exam! It’s all critical thinking questions!” It is quiet funny how students hate critical thinking questions and are overwhelmed by it.  Most of us students would rather have multiple choice answers, matching, or true or false. Why? Because of course, we want the exams to be easy, and something that we can pass easily. We also try to avoid taking classes with “hard” teachers, those who gives us a bunch of school work and five pages of short essay question exams. We avoid these because it usually fries our brain, causes stress, and we just simply don’t want to deal with the frustration. Henry Ford once said, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably why so few people engage in it.” However, no matter how much you hate critical thinking, it is very important that we enhance this skill.

Even I hated those kinds of exams.  It’s just recently that I finally accepted it. During my first semester of college, coming from high school, the way I studied was memorizing the text rather than understanding it or thinking critical about my reading so it can deepen my thoughts and knowledge. Before, I would have a hard time on my exams and blame instructions how unfair their exams were. Now, I came to realize how rewarding those “hard” teachers were. They forced me to deepen my understanding of the subject, and by applying the knowledge I absorbed throughout my studies into critical questions, I was able to think outside the box. Instead of just knowing the facts itself, I was able to solve a problem and support the conclusion. Critical thinking is an important and very useful skill or tool we use to observe, analyze, or evaluate certain information we gather from any event, such as a conversations and reading.

Not all of us might know this, but we think critically subconsciously all the time. For example, when reading certain book or article, we tend to pause in the middle of it because end up thinking critically of what we just read by just analyzing it. Then we start asking questions like “what if?” and “how?” about what we just read. This also applies to a conversation you and your friends are having. For instant, when my boyfriend and I argue, we analyze each other’s arguments so that we can answer why we feel we’re so mad at each other. Now, most of our arguments aren’t always the typical boyfriend and girlfriend fights. We usually talk about something that’s either controversy or a book he wish to discuss.

Now speaking of a controversy, about a few days ago, my boyfriend and I were discussing about why the DREAM ACT did not pass. I had my idea and my argument, and he had his. The problem was, even if we were thinking critically about this dilemma, I will admit that we were somewhat being biased. Why? It’s because we don’t have enough knowledge about the government, the immigration, taxes, welfare and everything else they say that affects citizens if this act was passed. So, before getting all pumped about your argument, you should probably do some research first and find actual facts that will support your argument before you start yelling at someone.

           I do except that the exercises provided in the class can enhance my critical thinking skills, as well as my fellow classmates. There are three great interesting books that are required for us to read, which is a great exercise for analyzing context. There’s also a discussion board were students practice sharing opinions and ideas. These practices help us not only with our education but also the way we view the world. Instead of being biased and believing whatever people say, like in the media, let us sit down a think first and get our mind to work! It might twist our little precious brain a bit, but don’t you feel smart?