Exercise Prompt: In “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” Sedaris explores themes of identity, insecurity, class, and belonging. Describe a moment when you dealt with one or more of these issues. Was there a time or situation that made you feel insecure? Was there a time or situation where you felt you didn’t belong? I have always had my fair share of …
Exercise Prompt: Write a creative scene about your space from the point of view of a person or object different from yourself. Imagine who might be visiting this space and why? How are they different from you in terms of race, class, age, gender, ability, or other factors that might influence their perception of the space? What would their impressions …
Exercise Prompt: Write a series of letters in response to Claudia Rankine’s Citizen, including friends, family members, and those who may have committed microaggressions. Dear (White) Reader, I hope that if you are seeing this, you have come with an open heart and an open mind, that you can look at the words on the page, and get the uncomfortable …
Dear Lady who said I was lucky to get accepted into college only because of my background, I would like to start off by saying you hurt my feelings but now I know I can do anything I set my mind to because I work hard for it and not because people feel bad for me. People like you love …
Exercise Prompt: Describe your space in detail. Make sure you use words that evoke at least 3 of the 5 senses. Choose a clear organizing strategy for your description (see Oregon Writes) such as inside to outside, top to bottom, front to back, or oldest to newest. When entering the space of my home, you will notice the family photos …
Discussion Questions: In “No Sweet Tooth, Just Trigger Fingers”, author Yasmeen Diego analyzes an advertisement in favor of stricter gun control and identifies the methods this advertisement uses to appeal to their target audience. Have you ever encountered a particularly persuasive commercial, poster ad, or billboard? What kind of appeals did the advertisement utilize and how did it effect you? …
What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word ramen? You may think of a delectable bowl of noodles, the smell of boiling broth, or you might be thinking of the store-bought packet of dried noodles you can cook at home. One of the things most people probably don’t think of when they hear ramen is edible …
Editor’s Note: For those unfamiliar with XXXTentacion’s musical stylings, you can listen to the album that informed Regala’s paper here. When suicide and depression come up in a discussion, what are some immediate reactions? When openly discussing a person’s mental health, speaking up and being honest is not easy. Television shows and other media outlets often portray depression through the …
Editor’s Note: If you would like to see the music video for Beyoncé’s “Formation,” you can click here. In 2005 of August, Hurricane Katrina forced around 1.5 million people to evacuate and around 700 people are still missing today. Recovery for this incident took years and many citizens have not recovered financially. Many believe that the government neglected the citizens …
Editor’s Note: The following essay refers to an advertisement that can be viewed here. A smaller version has also been included in the text. Americans have a special relationship with guns. Gun ownership is protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, but some people believe the rights of citizens to own guns has led to a culture …