Two Sides to Every Story

Two Sides to Every Story

Making Assumptions Causes Problems

A major theme in "Strange the Dreamer" is that both sides within an argument/hostile situation often do not completely understand each other's reasons for resentment, leading to even more conflict.

More specifically, Lazlo and Sarai come from rival groups (humans and godspawn). These two groups have resentment towards each other because the gods had raped the humans in order to create godspawn. In return, the humans killed the vast majority of gods and godspawn, not considering that the godspawn had nothing to do with the unspeakable actions of their godly parents. Each side has valid arguments but also misunderstandings.

Lazlo and Sarai have no reason to hate each other as individuals, although society says that they are supposed to because of what the races they are part of had done to each other.

This tumultuous kind of relationship reminds me of how Christians and Muslims often interact which as of recently has been really bad, especially with the recent mosque bombing. Many Christians and people of other faiths hold resentment towards all Muslims because of the terrorist attacks they hear about in the media such as 9/11. Yes, these terrorist attacks are horrible but its important to remember that most Muslims are disgusted by the actions of those terrorists. However, in response, some people of other faiths have retaliated by killing Muslims at random, seeming to think that they're preventing terrorism.

This can be compared to how Eril-Fane thought that killing godspawn would stop the rape of more humans. Neither case is true; killing Muslims does not prevent terrorism and killing godspawn does not prevent rape. In both cases you can often understand why some people act the way they do, although it does not justify their actions. Clearly the people were just distraught from being raped or having people they love killed by terrorists but it does not make it right to kill innocent godspawn or Muslims. Killing the gods and the terrorists is justified but there is no reason to take out innocent beings just because of the actions of some of their kind. It's also reasonable for the innocent Muslims and godspawn to feel resentful towards the humans or people of other faiths as a whole because of what the select few have done to them in responds to what a select few of their own kind did. However, once again, this does not make it right to hate everyone of a certain group, it's just more understandable. Due to all this resentment, hurtful actions towards each group seem to occur in a never-ending cycle of violence and misunderstanding.

In sum, it is best to just not make assumptions about people and their motivations in life simply based on their beliefs or race. It's especially horrible to take action against someone who hasn't done anything to hurt you just because you think they might due to their background. Just be nice and treat people on an individual basis. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Walking Dread

The Walking Dread

Zombies as Social Commentary

As an ex-Walking Dead fanatic, while I read Dread Nation, I found many similarities between the two. The most obvious similarity is how zombies are used to show how damaging and ridiculous it is for people in a society to not work together, especially in times of hardship.

In The Walking Dead there have been many instances where the main group has encountered and had all out warfare with another group, usually because they like to live and handle the dead in different ways. In some cases there are valid reasons for warfare, but many of the reasons are just petty. Some members of opposing groups want nothing to do with fighting and still get wrapped up in it anyways.

While the group was temporarily staying with the Greene family, one of the group members (Shane) discovered that he was keeping zombies, that were once his friends and family, captive in the barn.

Instead of trying to reason with him or accept it so they can continue together as a united force, Shane decided to kill all of the zombies, turning Hershel Greene against the entire group.

Similarly, in Dread Nation, the powerful white Summerland residents would rather offer useless weapons and poor nutrition to black residents so they can't adequately fight the dead, than treat them as equals so that they can protect everyone. They are so fixated on race and maintaining inequality that they essentially allow themselves to be attacked and taken over by "shamblers" even though it could have been prevented. Much like in The Walking Dead, some white citizens such as the tinkerer did not agree with the way things were but could not do much to stop the fighting.

Both The Walking Dead and Dread Nation use zombies as a way to comment on how we as a society do not work together as much as we should, even in times where teamwork is vital. They also mention the struggle of individuals to overcome the will of the majority and work together regardless of what others want them to do. There is no use fighting over reasons as petty as race and thoughts about the dead when there are much larger issues to deal with in life. People are much more powerful when they are united and more vulnerable when they are fighting. While there are plenty of things in life to fight about, it's often better to let the little things go, especially in life or death situations.

Summing up my points in one gif:

The Importance of Individuals

The Importance of Individuals

Which of the "Two Boys Kissing" Boys are You Most Like?

Are you more like Craig and Henry who defiantly broke social norms? Are you more like Peter and Neil who sought to find a deeper sense of security in their lives? Are you more like Avery or Ryan who faced challenges to their love and dealt with it in their own ways? Or, could you be more like Cooper who felt lost and alone in the confusion of life?

In class we discussed how the story would feel incomplete as a whole without each individual character and their story.

Each character played an essential role in the story through their unique personality and set of circumstances. Without any one of the individuals, the story would not feel complete. Although the majority of the stories came in pairs and included a couple side characters, each individual had their own unique personality, support system, set of beliefs, comfort level, and amount of self-acceptance. Each of these sets of circumstances allowed for a diverse look into what it is like to grow up in the LGBTQ community in the generation of the internet. If we were missing even one of these characters, we would not get as full of an understanding of how not only ourselves, but our situations affect how we feel about certain things such as being gay.

What part would you play?

Take the quiz to find out!

The Psychology of Danny

Psychologically Analyzing Danny

As a psychology major, I often find myself psychologically analyzing characters from books I read. Currently I am enrolled in Abnormal Psychology where we are leaning about how to measure and diagnosis different syndromes and disorders. One of these conditions is Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

One of the ways to measure this is to use the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, a method in which patients answer rate 1-5 how a much 12 separate statements regarding uncertainty relates to them. The less comfortable they report being with uncertainty, the more likely they are to have an anxiety disorder.

Throughout the book, Danny shows symptoms of anxiety with how she reacts to uncertainty.

The first statement is "Unforeseen events upset me greatly" to which I believe Danny would respond with a 5 (entirely characteristic of me).

Evidence of this includes being extremely upset when her mother turns her back on her when her father is around, she is outed as a superhero by graywytch, her mother removes her from school, and David treats her poorly when she comes out as being a girl.

To all of these unforeseen situations, Danny responds with angry outbursts or crying. Had she anticipated these events were about to happen, it is likely they would not have affected her as much.

The 11th statement is "I should be able to organize everything in advance." I believe Danny would also respond to this with a 5.

When Calamity suggests they fight Utopia after she blows up their last lead, Danny finds herself feeling conflicted as she has not had time to plan an attack, clearly not wanting to be spontaneous with it. In the past she has planned specific times to leave and be back at her house so as to avoid her parents finding out about her secrets.

I won't go into detail about all of the statements but in my opinion Danny would have a relatively high score on this scale. This means she is likely to have Generalized Anxiety Disorder or another form of anxiety. This condition affects how and may explain why she reacts to certain situations the way she does. Living with two huge secrets is bound to have a negative impact on your life and lead you to want to plan everything out meticulously to avoid any further anxiety inducing situations.

I will include a copy of the scale below. Feel free to rate Danny or even yourself on it!

Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale - Short Form

(Carleton, Norton, & Asmundson, 2007)

Please circle the number that best corresponds to how much you agree with each item.

	Not at all characteristic of me	A little characteristic of me	Somewhat characteristic of me	Very characteristic of me	Entirely characteristic of me
1. Unforeseen events upset me greatly.	1	2	3	4	5
2. It frustrates me not having all the information I need.	1	2	3	4	5
3. Uncertainty keeps me from living a full life.	1	2	3	4	5
4. One should always look ahead so as to avoid surprises.	1	2	3	4	5
5. A small unforeseen event can spoil everything, even with the best of planning.	1	2	3	4	5
6. When it’s time to act, uncertainty paralyses me.	1	2	3	4	5
7. When I am uncertain I can’t function very well.	1	2	3	4	5
8. I always want to know what the future has in store for me.	1	2	3	4	5
9. I can’t stand being taken by surprise.	1	2	3	4	5
10. The smallest doubt can stop me from acting.	1	2	3	4	5
11. I should be able to organize everything in advance.	1	2	3	4	5
12. I must get away from all uncertain situations.	1	2	3	4	5

About Me

Welcome to My Life

(the good, the bad, and the ugly)

Name: Katherine Weitbrecht

Major: Psychology and Criminology

Interests: Playing music, sewing, horseback riding, playing with my animals (2 chinchillas and a rabbit), playing video games, and blogging on occasion

Song: "Girl on Fire" By: Alicia Keys

Where I'm from: Braintree, MA

(Sunset Lake)

Have I come of age?

Personally I think coming of age has no definitive end. Everyone is constantly growing and evolving as people throughout their lives. I don't feel like I will ever reach a point where I can confidently say that I have completely come of age but I'm okay with that. I would rather continue to grow every day than to reach a peak where I no longer mature mentally.

I have always found myself in a higher stage of maturity of more mentally "of age" than my peers. However, at age 12 I started working for my family's business and had to give up gong to some sleepovers and birthday parties for the sake of making money and helping my family. At 12 years old that was hard for me to understand but by being put into that position I didn't have much of a choice but to learn to understand at an early age.

In freshman year of high school I got my first solo in a concert and had to get over my immense fear of public failure and learn to loosen up and live in the moment.

At age 16 my pen-pal and best friend became my boyfriend. While this may seem insignificant to coming of age, it has been one of the most life changing events that I have gone through. he lives 250 miles (around 5 hours) away from me. At age 16 I started working two jobs at once in order to afford plane tickets. Most people my age sign up for Tinder and enjoy meaningless flings but here I am at age 18 and I don't feel even a little disappointed that I never got to experience it because of the relationship I do have. It's emotionally taxing to be so far apart but it has taught me so many valuable lessons about communication, sacrifice, trust, and so much more. Not to mention, flying alone can be pretty scary.

Moving into college was a big step in my life. I had always lived in the same home throughout my entire life and never went to sleep away camps. Being away from my family (and my pets) was emotionally difficult but it threw me into a position where I would have to become more independent. I couldn't just ask my mom to do my laundry anymore or go hang out with my high school friends when I had a rough day. It was emotionally challenging as someone with social anxiety to force myself to go out and make new friends but in the end I did it and it was a huge milestone in my life. I also officially became super broke and had to take out loans (RIP).

Very early on into my freshman year in college I was violently attacked (I won't get into details). Although clearly it was very traumatizing, it made me aware of how serious of an epidemic this is on college campuses and that colleges tend to mishandle try to cover these stories up. I know people who follow my Instagram are sick of hearing me say it and probably think I'm crazy at this point but after going through this I found the whole process to be very troubling and problematic. The point is, going through all of that has been a big wake up call and ignited a passion in me that I never knew I had before.

Now, I make speeches alongside my lawyer, in front of high school seniors and their parents, warning them of the reality behind these issues and advising them how to handle it if they find themselves in a similar position. There was no feeling more satisfying than having people line up to thank me after making my very first speech. It made me feel mature and proud that I had done something that many adults cannot.

Overall, most of my coming of age process has occurred when I have been forcefully pushed out of my comfort zone and had to learn to navigate new situations. A coming of age has lots of ups and downs, each of which you grow from. It's not something that can be measured but you can just sense when something that has occurred will cause you to become more "of age" and you can see it in the way you handle situations you're put in.