Blog Assignment #2

Hello again! After watching the film "People Like Us", students were asked to consider the types of "tribes" they encounter in society or human life at large. We were also asked to elaborate on what seperates us into people groups that we identify with and provide some information on our personal "tribes".

The first thing I noticed was sheer variety. The nature of tribalism is for individuals who share common ground to find each other and mutually enhance their endgoal. This would often lead one to believe that tribe members have homogenous mindsets; holding all the same beliefs, values and desires. The truth of the matter is that there is a world inside of everyone, and even when similar individuals pack together, they cannot all be truly driven by the same motives and adhere to the exact same standards. Everyone has their preferences.

Obviously language was not the key. It certainly helped to filter out who I would find approachable and easy to converse with, but I still communicate with several friends across the globe who prefer to speak in their native tongues and we make it work.

Style is out of the question. I have always been more concerned with the person wearing the clothes, not the clothes a person is wearing. I love the way many of my tribe members dress, they often excite me and give me new ideas for fashion and style and I frequently question the choices of others - but that does not shape whether I will value them and care about their well-being.

Traditions could not be the answer either, since my tribe members are so alarmingly diverse. I have participated in many traditions for the first time with members of my tribe, meaning that they held these traditions before we became acquainted, and we aligned ourselves regardless of this fact. And if this holds true for traditions, this certainly holds true for food. For example, my best freind can only eat plain hot dogs. That will probably never seem normal to me. On the other hand, people often ask me if I "really ordered that with mushrooms" or "you eat the crust!?" [author's note: only when the vibe is right - and if it's on it's on] But variety is the spice of life! If I had a box of crayons, I would hope they are not all similar hues! The same stands for my tribe. I would grow very uninterested of living in a tribe of monochromatic members.

I figure it has to be outlook on life. I can't put my finger on it, but after someone opens up I just know. We either click or we don't. You're either willing to be formless and raw; ready to absorb and learn everything you can in efforts to achieve the life you want, while never compromising yourself or anyone you value similarly.. or you can keep your tribe.

I identify most with the multiethnic group of students at the lunch table, upset that their classmates segregate into cliques and exclude people in a vain effort to feel more included. I did not see any indications of class when I looked at the man in his "wifebeater" undershirt and plaid shorts. I saw a man. I know that any man worth his salt is a self-made man, a man that defines himself. As a man who must work to assert himself and be expected to behave, dress or look certain ways in a given setting.. he reserves the right to choose otherwise on his own time.

Unfortunately, I think I also identify with the students who visit dive bars. They were convinced that they were doing justice to the community by going to their authentic bars and living among the people, but they never even stopped to consider asking the townspeople if they had any thoughts on the subject. The townspeople by and large did not appreciate them and considered them to be yuppies. These students thought they were making social improvement and change, and were completely oblivious that they were coming across as yuppies. I feel that had they known this, they would have immediately reconsidered what they were doing.. but they did not have the advantage of seeing the world from the perspective of the other people. That's what I go after. The mashup.

Blog Assignment #1 - LIBS201

Hello! In case I missed the opportunity to introduce myself to you, or in case you are simply reading this blog I have posted, my name is Chase Austin. My full name is Chase Austin Dziagwa. I prefer being called by either title, and I encourage people to address me in whatever flows most naturally but for the sake of this blog’s fluidityI have chosen Austin. I am a Senior at Roosevelt University and am scheduled to graduate in May 2014, despite only being a college student for about three years now. I am a Communications major, more specifically in the Integrated Marketing Communications program. I transferred into Roosevelt University after studying at St. Norbert College in Green Bay, Wisconsin and completing my Associate’s degree through Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. I am currently unsure of what career path I intend to pursue after graduation, but I have figured out that I love nearly everything about travel: new sights, new sounds, new experiences, choosing from a variety of drink, foods, flavors, and  beds to make your own - slipping off of maps, chasing waterfalls, blazing trails, listening to the music and breathing in the unique atmospheres. I will likely take photography back into heavy consideration, or perhaps journalism, travel reviews, or even marketing consultation (which uses the word marketing but apparently involves fun and travel). I constantly think about the beaches of Florida, one of my homes away from home, and I am convinced that I will attempt to move somewhere a little more free-spirited, exotic and/or tropical.

I expect this to be an interesting class. I expect the semester ahead to present its own set of challenges and assignments and though it does not seem too difficult at the moment, I will bear in mind that it is a college course required for graduation and will surely have a fair share of work for us all to be mindful of. It seems like an interesting way to possibly connect with other students in class and maybe gain a better understanding of who people are and what lessons and values I can learn from them. 

I consider myself a sufficient writer. I think I am especially talented at making the right word choices and using powerful descriptors, but I often have a hard time coming up with a significant message to actually have built out of the words I have chosen. However, I am generally a bit sluggish on actually putting the words together and having them published. I feel that time constraints or context can often cause my responses to be forced and insincere. I am the type of person who likes to be confident in what they are saying and feel that it is coming forth organically, and it is often uncomfortable searching for something appropriate to announce when “put on the spot”.

I do not especially enjoy writing. My current degree is an Associates of Arts in English, and I therefore feel I have done a notable amount of writing. As mentioned before, I rarely feel I have something I actually want to write, and don’t even get me started on the number of works I have written that I want people to read. Okay, now since you got me started: here’s a hint - zero. And reading is for nerds. Reading is a luxury. I do not read very often and it is a special challenge to hold my attention.

I would like to change my tendency to be overly descriptive in writing. I often let the form of my words convolute the function that they were intended to have. Often I know that if I use imperfect wording, I can send a more effective and direct message.. but through my own selfishness, I choose what I would rather literally say and let the meaning get skewed than to be heard for what I a actually mean to figuratively say. I would like to be a more accessible, relatable, and appreciated communicator.

Out of this class I hope to learn how to read the words others are publishing and to be able to empathize with the author; understanding their headspace and what they are feeling and trying to voice to those listening. To be a more relatable writer. To learn how to think the way other people think and to communicate with them in the way they think. 

I hope that this class will help me to determine who I am, what I want, how to let others know what I want. I hope this class will help me to determine who others are, what they want, and how they let others know. I hope this class will enlighten me as to a few ways  which people learn to function better, to feel better, to do better and to be better.