My life has been full of interesting experiences. Nothing too fantastical. Just experiences that are fun to share with those willing to listen. I’ve learned many things throughout the trials and triumphs. I would like to believe that they have made me a better person, but I have to say that regardless of how they have affected me I am satisfied for now with who I am today. Over the past few years it has increasingly become my goal to push the boundaries of my comfort zone into new territories. Though I still struggle with this goal I value deeply the experiences and people that it has brought into my life. In particular I am talking about my decision to try out and perform with a World Class drum and bugle corps.
Now first I should explain what a drum and bugle corps is. A corps is basically a marching band except with no woodwind instruments and at the time consisted of approximately one hundred and thirty members. The sections were percussion, brass, and color guard with each section playing a vital role in the eleven minute on field production. Drum and bugle corps are organized under several organizations the biggest and most dominant being DCI (Drum Corps International). DCI corps are divided into World and Open classes. World class drum corps are considered the elites. DCI claims to be the “Marching Music’s Major League.” They are considered by some to be the NFL of marching bands. The corps I marched for, Southwind, is a lower ranking World class corps. We competed in over thirty formal performances and performed in close to fifty informal performances.
When I first tried out for Southwind it was very intimidating, especially not knowing a soul there. I was below the average age by about two years and lacked more than a little in the experience department. I remember going about the days leading up to the auditions in almost a state of denial. I tried to ignore the fact that I was taking a huge step out of my preset boundaries. It didn’t really hit me what I was about to do until the night before. It had been a very cold Thanksgiving weekend and we had left home early for the six hour drive up to Lexington Kentucky. I was terrified. I realized that at that point there was no turning back.
When I arrived the afternoon of the two day audition camp I remember looking at the big double doors to the middle school where the auditions would be held and telling my mother that I would be okay going in alone. In retrospect I’m very surprised that I worked up that kind of courage. I then grabbed my luggage out of the back seat, and walked in trembling with anxiety. It’s a funny thing when you know that there is nothing to be afraid of but you are still afraid. I think at that point I really learned that living was acting out against those fears.
Checking in was awkward but the waiting afterwards was almost unbearably uncomfortable. I had done all the necessary paperwork and now was the waiting period. It was almost as if the talent of these people made the air thick and heavy. I could hear people warming up on their instruments. They played beautiful lines, and fast runs things that good musicians do. I felt out of place from a talent and social standpoint. Everyone else had someone to talk to. I eventually wound up talking to someone who would later become the friend I spent most of my summer with. It was my first encounter with the people there and I could definitely feel some growing pains.
The waiting ended eventually and now we got to move on to the fun part. The auditions weren’t really anything of a formal matter where you went into a room with a panel of judges and they critique you on your technique. The corps. wanted to know the following three things: can you play your instrument well, can you march well, and do you learn well. I was by far and away not the most talented musician there but I am a good marcher and learn very quickly. So because they were looking for other things besides music virtuosity, they taught us the specific techniques that would help everyone look uniform. There were many veterans who knew how things went and were great at helping the newbies. Things were going great until they started calling out names. It was time for the dreaded music auditions. I was shaking when they called me in and while I was playing the audition music. It had turned out that there were two audition pieces and I had only practiced one. I walked out of there upset that I had not had the quality tryout I had hoped for. I quickly cheered up however realizing that the worst that could happen was not being called back. This wouldn’t have been too big of a problem but I wanted to prove to the people back home that I was good enough to be among some of the elite. Here is where I had conquered my fear of failure something essential for success.
It’s interesting to see how everything fits together. I was called back several times until I was finally offered a contract to sign. It was wonderful having the feeling of knowing I was going to be a part of something great. There are so many memories packed into that half a year. I came to enjoy the performances, appreciate rehearsals, and love the people. It was like my own very large adoptive family. I would pay the amount of discomfort I felt at the audition ten times over if it meant knowing more people like them. Getting to know good people is one aspect of life I have come to truly appreciate now, and sharing experiences with people allows you to truly see who they are.
If I tried to write to you about everything I learned that summer I would have to give you a novel, but instead I’ll leave you with a few of the most important ones. Besides for professionalism, dedication, mental endurance, discipline, camaraderie, and passion I learned how to handle myself. Being on my own and being held responsible for my own actions really raised my level of maturity. I learned to handle difficult situations with strangers and friends. I learned that in order to achieve something your proud of you must first have the courage to create that opportunity. It can’t be an expectation for opportunity to simply fall into your lap. It may not have been easy that way but it is more than worth it. The pride that comes with knowing you delivered something that brought out your true potential is priceless. It may sound a little cliche but I walked a little taller after that summer and will for as long as I live.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Price of Parking
Let me preface this post by stating that this is my first year at UAH. That being said I never had to pay the original price for parking decals from the last semester. I do however have to pay the outrageous one hundred and twenty dollars for my current parking decal. This is significantly less than last semesters (if memory serves correctly it's greater by a factor of four). Now though it is a lot of money to pay I do see why administrators need/want to raise the cost. With the new sophomore dorms coming in year as well as the need for road improvements and such, the increase would allow for these improvements to be made without the need for an increase in tuition. The major problem is that there are a few commuters who come to the campus once or twice a week. This is a problem because these people are paying outrageous amounts of money just to park for a few hours every week. I remember talking to one such person and hearing her complaints on the matter. Overall I can't really say that it was a horrible decision (though it costs me an extra 90 dollars) but it would be nice if it could have been eased in to instead of quadrupling over night. Overall as long as it's not being wasted on something useless or being spent in ineffective ways I'm fine.
Friday, September 25, 2009
The other blogs
I went through and read some other peoples blogs. The three that I read all seemed to be against book banning. I of course have come to the same conclusion and view book banning in much the same way. One thing I do find disturbing is the fact that none of us could find an example of how books are banned. It seems to me that it is because the process of book banning is not something concrete like it should be. I am now under the impression that this process is unorganized and ununiform. After thinking about it some more though this makes sense. It is unorganized because no two school systems or librarys ban books the same. Since book banning is kept to the very lowest forms of government it will vary all over the place. While reading through the blogs I didn't find anything that I disagreed with. There were some statements that I was questionable on but nothing that gained the reaction of "oh he/she is completely wrong." Overall I enjoyed reading through the blogs because they gave me a new perspective on this topic.
Banned Books and John Knowles’ A Separate Peace
The banning of books has always been a touchy subject throughout the world and in particular among the American citizens. As a country the United States has always proclaimed to stand for the liberty of its people, but has also promised to protect them and help allow those very citizens to prosper. The idea behind this is great but unfortunately when it comes to the process and morals behind book banning these three ideals get in each other’s way. In order to properly educate students some people feel that the students must be exposed to certain books through assigned reading in school. Well what happens when an individual or group feels that these books have an inverse affect? What happens when someone feels that this supposed educational necessity is more of a detriment than assistance? What happens is that this book is challenge and possibly banned through a process that falls within the morally grey areas of American society.
Censorship is defined as the process by which books or other media items are examined and suppressed for inappropriate sections (Apple Dictionary). The banning of books is a form of censorship because of its restriction of the distribution and/or use of a literary work. There are a few main ways that a book is censored in the United States. The first form is where a book is removed from a public library. The second is when a book is removed from the required reading list of students. The third and probably the most controversial is the prohibition of a book from being on school grounds. Fortunately there is somewhat of a process that libraries and schools must go through in order to have a booked censored. In order for a book to be censored in a school it must first be appealed to and then banned by the school board in that district. Luckily the matter of censorship is restricted to the very lowest levels of local government. It would be really problematic if the federal government were somehow allowed to ban books. Another motivating factor for literary freedom is the fact that only parents are allowed to restrict the books checked out from a public library (American Library Association). This ensures that no one individual such as a librarian can impede on the academic freedom of another.
There are several classic novels that have been removed from the shelves of school and public libraries as well as from the reading lists of school systems. One of such books was entitled A Separate Peace by John Knowles. The book was challenged in several school systems including the first challenge in the Veron-Verona-Sherill, New York, school district (Notes on Book Banning). The book was originally challenged as being a “Filthy, trashy sex novel” in 1980. Other challenges were because of the novel’s language which was thought to be rude, offensive, and otherwise inappropriate for the age groups of those school districts (Banned Books Week).
Though the novel A Separate Peace addressed some rather touchy issues I find it interesting that it was banned on the basis of its language and sexual content. When reading through it I do remember some language but it was appropriate in the context of the book since the main setting was a male boarding school. I however do not remember any extremely sexual sections of the book. Since I was a young male when I first read it I believe that anything of that nature would immediately stick out in my mind. This is not the case. The book addressed touchy subjects other than sex such as war and it’s affect on society, especially young men. It also portrays a rather disturbing relationship between two friends. Though these subjects are rather intense I think they are one of the reasons why this book is considered a classic as well as why I would recommend it as a novel. I believe that the reasons for censorship over this book are unfounded and for lack of a better word, bogus.
A Separate Peace is only one small book to come under fire. There have been others and in my lifetime probably none as big as the Harry Potter series. I came across an interesting article in which the author, Scott Monk, addressed the fact that very few books gained massive amount of support from younger generations (23). He also stated that that love should be expanded and directed into other realms of literature but instead the only thing that seemed to be happening was the book being censored from schools.
The banning of books while a interesting has proven to be a tricky subject to address. I strongly disagree with most forms of censorship but I also disagree with students being required to read certain material that could actually prove harmful to them. Books should not under any circumstances be banned from a school. The first thing our mind wants to naturally do after hearing this is come up with a million exceptions to the rule and say ”well what about this circumstance?” The problem with banning books from school grounds is asking when that very process starts to impede on other rights such as the freedom of religion. It may seem difficult to accept at first but the solid “purist” approach is the only way to ensure that our basic rights stay intact. Libraries have often been the center for intellectual thought and the improving of society. What if that source was tainted and an essential part was removed? When a book is removed from a library an essential piece of information is lost. It is horrible to think that information should be denied to a person or even worse that someone else’s voice should be silenced. Libraries are present to facilitate the exchanging of information not to filter it. The final form of censorship is the removal of a book from a required reading list. This is the most difficult issue to address. I do not believe that a student (especially younger ones) should be required to read specific novels. The reasoning behind this is that it leaves no room for parental control over what the child reads, which is important because certain material may be inappropriate for that individual but not for his peers. This brings me to my final conclusion. The parents should be the only censorship on what a child is or is not exposed to. When the children become adults they should be given the right to freely access all information that they wish to. Parents are given the responsibility of safeguarding their children. They are given this responsibility because they know their children better than anyone else and understand that certain materials are harmful to their own kids. In the end government should have no control over what books are and are not accessible. People should be secure and know that they still hold their fundamental rights.
Censorship is defined as the process by which books or other media items are examined and suppressed for inappropriate sections (Apple Dictionary). The banning of books is a form of censorship because of its restriction of the distribution and/or use of a literary work. There are a few main ways that a book is censored in the United States. The first form is where a book is removed from a public library. The second is when a book is removed from the required reading list of students. The third and probably the most controversial is the prohibition of a book from being on school grounds. Fortunately there is somewhat of a process that libraries and schools must go through in order to have a booked censored. In order for a book to be censored in a school it must first be appealed to and then banned by the school board in that district. Luckily the matter of censorship is restricted to the very lowest levels of local government. It would be really problematic if the federal government were somehow allowed to ban books. Another motivating factor for literary freedom is the fact that only parents are allowed to restrict the books checked out from a public library (American Library Association). This ensures that no one individual such as a librarian can impede on the academic freedom of another.
There are several classic novels that have been removed from the shelves of school and public libraries as well as from the reading lists of school systems. One of such books was entitled A Separate Peace by John Knowles. The book was challenged in several school systems including the first challenge in the Veron-Verona-Sherill, New York, school district (Notes on Book Banning). The book was originally challenged as being a “Filthy, trashy sex novel” in 1980. Other challenges were because of the novel’s language which was thought to be rude, offensive, and otherwise inappropriate for the age groups of those school districts (Banned Books Week).
Though the novel A Separate Peace addressed some rather touchy issues I find it interesting that it was banned on the basis of its language and sexual content. When reading through it I do remember some language but it was appropriate in the context of the book since the main setting was a male boarding school. I however do not remember any extremely sexual sections of the book. Since I was a young male when I first read it I believe that anything of that nature would immediately stick out in my mind. This is not the case. The book addressed touchy subjects other than sex such as war and it’s affect on society, especially young men. It also portrays a rather disturbing relationship between two friends. Though these subjects are rather intense I think they are one of the reasons why this book is considered a classic as well as why I would recommend it as a novel. I believe that the reasons for censorship over this book are unfounded and for lack of a better word, bogus.
A Separate Peace is only one small book to come under fire. There have been others and in my lifetime probably none as big as the Harry Potter series. I came across an interesting article in which the author, Scott Monk, addressed the fact that very few books gained massive amount of support from younger generations (23). He also stated that that love should be expanded and directed into other realms of literature but instead the only thing that seemed to be happening was the book being censored from schools.
The banning of books while a interesting has proven to be a tricky subject to address. I strongly disagree with most forms of censorship but I also disagree with students being required to read certain material that could actually prove harmful to them. Books should not under any circumstances be banned from a school. The first thing our mind wants to naturally do after hearing this is come up with a million exceptions to the rule and say ”well what about this circumstance?” The problem with banning books from school grounds is asking when that very process starts to impede on other rights such as the freedom of religion. It may seem difficult to accept at first but the solid “purist” approach is the only way to ensure that our basic rights stay intact. Libraries have often been the center for intellectual thought and the improving of society. What if that source was tainted and an essential part was removed? When a book is removed from a library an essential piece of information is lost. It is horrible to think that information should be denied to a person or even worse that someone else’s voice should be silenced. Libraries are present to facilitate the exchanging of information not to filter it. The final form of censorship is the removal of a book from a required reading list. This is the most difficult issue to address. I do not believe that a student (especially younger ones) should be required to read specific novels. The reasoning behind this is that it leaves no room for parental control over what the child reads, which is important because certain material may be inappropriate for that individual but not for his peers. This brings me to my final conclusion. The parents should be the only censorship on what a child is or is not exposed to. When the children become adults they should be given the right to freely access all information that they wish to. Parents are given the responsibility of safeguarding their children. They are given this responsibility because they know their children better than anyone else and understand that certain materials are harmful to their own kids. In the end government should have no control over what books are and are not accessible. People should be secure and know that they still hold their fundamental rights.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The research begins. . . .
So I began my research and decided that the best place to look would be an online list of banned books. I wasn't too worried about the credibility of these websites as I was only using them to get an orientation for which books were and were not banned. I eventually came across a list on WikiPedia about banned books and saw that one of my favorite novels from a previous summer reading list was listed. The novel was A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I was a little confused by this so I decided that I would research into it some more. I googled the answer and came across a Yahoo Answers post that included several links which I eventually followed to this site:
Once I arrived here I quickly found the book and the reason for it's banning. I was shocked to see that it was challenged on the basis of sexual content. It may have been a while since I read the book but as a male teenager I think any outstanding sexual content would have stuck out in my mind. Out of all the reasons I would think that it's melancholy mood and critical analyses of young men during war time would be the main point in its banning. All of the other complaints I see are what I think of as rather typical for any good novel that might come under fire from overly protective parents. It seems that the novel had its fair share of "crude" language. I laugh at this a little because I wonder how young people are ever going to mature if they are never exposed to some of the uglier aspects of life. It reminds me of the aphorism "you can't bake a cake without breaking a few eggs."
In my process for trying to find a book that was banned and why it was banned I came across the words like "challenged" suggesting that in order for a book to be banned it must go through some sort of legal process. I have not quit looked into this yet but I look forward to seeing on what basis and through what process most books are banned.
First Post
Okay so here is my first post. This blog is originally being made out of a necessity for a place that I can chronicle the progress of my research for my freshman composition class. Though I have made the blog because of this, I do not wish for that to be it's one and only purpose. I hope that by the time I am done with this course I will have reached the point where I will do this often and for my own pleasure (and hopefully yours as well). I look forward to making further posts and hope that you enjoy what I have to say.
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