Final Blog
The first most influential idea I learned about was from one of my ted talks talking about independence and reliance as dominos and trying to tip the right ones. The second most influential idea I learned about was the idea that reliance in relationships can be healthy but they are also dangerous. I remember seeing a video online once that talked about how men of color and white women were similar in the way that they both only have “1” level of oppression. Of course it was a stupid video I saw online but honestly after my research I kind of understand where they are coming from. I am not at all saying there exists any sort of competition of who can be the most oppressed but there is something to say about women of color. For my research I watched a ton of Ted Talks essentially about independence and learning to fight through oppression and it was really interesting to see their resilience.
I think my project is interesting since it provides insight on a part of racism and sexism and isn’t talked about as much. Instead of focusing on the oppressor it focuses much more on the victim’s ability to be resilient and I think that is important to learn for anyone, not just the voice I was focusing on.
The most important thing that I learned about my community is that everyone is way more human than they seem. The idea of making new friends as a freshman is something that seems like an impressive feat, but in reality when you look at your peers as exactly that, your peers, things become a lot simpler. Everyone has their own struggles and triumphs in life and when you realize that being compassionate and getting along with those around you isn’t so hard.
Advice I’d give future NNHS seniors: maximize your fun. Try to do everything you can to savor everything as it comes because this year is the year of a lot of lasts.
I definitely agree that everyone is more human than they seem. It can be really scary talking to new people and reaching out with the chance of getting rejected, but at the end of the day we all just want to feel loved. Since moving to Naperville it’s been scary reaching out to people especially because everything’s online but it was definitely worth it.
Hi Ethan, your post has such a powerful message. I think the point you brought up about tiers/levels of oppression is a great way to visualize the concept, despite being over simplified. I like how you incorporated a lot of TedTalks because it demonstrates how prevalent this issue is in modern society and has been continuing even today. Your point about resilience from the victim is so powerful and something I hadn’t considered before. Great selection of sources and great insight!
Hey Ethan!
What I find so fascinating about considering independence as a sequence of dominos, is it almost negates the whole idea of independence anyhow; where there are dominos, there is a single path, where there is a single path, there is no independence. It’s counterintuitive in a way; it seems much more reasonable to place dominos rather than watch them fall, but the world doesn’t work like that, which is a very interesting and valid point. Victim resilience, then, is an incredible showcasing of this.
As for maximizing fun, that is something I would second. In such a fast paced world where people care about pace, enjoying yourself is much more important than contributing to it; academic/financial success is nothing without personal success.
Well done, and congrats on an incredible year.
Hey Ethan, I enjoyed reading your blog. I’ve read some of your blogs in the past, so it was nice to be able to read your very last one. It was so interesting how you brought up that resilience can be a good or bad thing when it comes to relationships. At first, I completely disagreed because from all of my relationships, resilience has always been a healthy thing. But, it makes sense how in some relationships it can be toxic, if the two people really don’t treat each other that well, but it’s hard for them to let go. At the end, I gave very similar advice as you did to the incoming seniors. I told them to go to everything at North and everything with their friends as they possibly can. Sometimes, you might not always have fun, but you might end up making some of the most fun memories of your life. The most important thing is to not have any regrets after graduating.
Hi Ethan,
The levels of oppression that you talk about in your project/blog are something that I feel comes up a lot in society. I feel like it does come up a lot, and while it may seem like it is oversimplifying a very complex topic, it is important to keep in mind different groups of people who may suffer multiple levels of oppression.
Hey Ethan,
Fighting through oppression and the various “levels” of oppression are a key part in inequality that is often overlooked, so I’m glad to see you did a project focusing in on these ideas. I agree that there’s a lot to a person that often we don’t see when we look from the surface, it’s an important lesson to learn and I’m glad you came to that realization with your time here at NNHS.
Hi Ethan,
I can definitely see where you’re coming from in terms of reliance being dangerous, but I would argue it’s very important as well, and trying to do everything by yourself can be equally as dangerous.
I think you bring up a really good point in that everyone is more human than they seem; people are scary until you get to know them.
Hi Ethan, reading about a new perspective regarding oppression was really interesting. When culture and society is slow to change, internal resilience is one of the things everyone can do. Secondly, I really like your blog theme, if we were to give blog theme superlatives, I’d put your blog down for every category. As this black bunny blink as me, I do agree with your advice. Especially with the pandemic, living passively and letting the last highschool memories pass us by, seems enticing, however, embracing the last of our day at NNHS is the best way to exit this chapter of our life.