It's Just Who I Am

The manner in which one carries themselves in public has much to do with two features of life: the personality that is acquired at the moment of conception and the experiences in life that act as forces to shape that personality as one matures.  I was fortunate to have parents that were both outgoing, yet conservative in nature.  Because my father was in the service I was provided the opportunity to experience different environments and various cultures as we moved every year and a half.  These factors were the basics of the context in which I learned how to function as a young girl and how I have adapted to my life as a mature adult. 

            I enjoyed very healthy relationships with my family and friends growing up.  Although my family was not wealthy, I lacked no physical, emotional, or spiritual nurturance and therefore was content.  I was smiled at and learned to smile a lot myself.  People liked being around me.  I gave off good vibrations; real positive and upbeat.  It is so sad that today’s female population can’t smile at just anyone for fear of being thought of as a freak or that they are loose.

            I have enjoyed very good health as well.  I have always been physically strong and very much an athlete.  If one were to observe me walking through campus it wouldn’t be difficult to recognize by my gait that I played some type of sport.  I admit I was a tomboy through and through.  Climbing trees was my fame and volleyball was my game.  And I am okay knowing the way I physically maneuver my body isn’t all that appealing to the opposite sex.  I like who I am and the things I can do and the people who appreciate me for all that I am.  Like my husband of 29 years.

            Of course, it should go without saying that I like to wear sweats and baggy jeans instead of leggings or pants that often show every inch of cellulite that I have acquired over time.  I do appreciate style though.  My idea of style is coordinating colors, tasteful contour of lines that accentuate my body instead of punctuating it, and reasonable heel height.  I assume by now that anyone reading this post would realize I am an older woman who is pretty much set in her ways.  All I know is that I need to feel comfortable with what I wear in order to be myself. 

            Moving from location to location definitely impacted my mental outlook on life. I was forced to adapt and grow in self-identity and self-concept or drown in inhibitions wherever my father was transferred.  I enjoyed every move we made; it presented challenges and compensation on my behalf if I was to succeed in school and in play.  I developed self-efficacy at a very young age.  And this belief in my own abilities is what has inspired me to return to college after redshirting for 37 years.  It is interesting though.  The students in face-to-face classes generally do not pick me for group work because of my age.  It’s a great feeling when I can see they wish they had.    

Me and My Dad: How We Communicated

I’ll never forget.  Every evening when my dad got home from work he would give my mom a kiss and sit himself on the end barstool and begin taking off his tie.  He did this very slowly as he waited for her to start talking about her day playing bridge at the women’s club and how dumb it was that Mae chose to trump some card instead of going down on some other… To me is sounded as if she had spent the day making a spaceship with these women.  (Oh, for sure she tried to teach me the game, but after several lessons I still had no clue what I was supposed to do, so she at last gave up on me.  Whew!)  She would go on for what seemed an eternity discussing the game’s strategies that weren’t played properly while my dad actually listened to her.  It was after he had given her time to vent about all the important matters of her day that he would go upstairs, change clothes, and return downstairs to read the newspaper and finish his third pack of Salem Lights.

            My dad was a man of few words, but when he spoke I wanted to listen.  I always knew when I asked for advice he would hear me out fully, inquiring into parts of my discussion he didn’t quite understand.  He would formulate his answers only if he knew what he said was relevant and trustworthy information to share.  He wouldn’t offer too much information, just enough to answer my questions, unless I pressed him for more. I do not believe he did this for any other reason than he wasn’t impressed by the sound of his own voice.  It wasn’t in his nature to impress others with his knowledge, which he seemed to have an abundance of.

            Holmes talked about how silent participants can be the most powerful players in conversations.  I can speak for my older siblings when I say his presence was enough to keep your mouth in line.  It wasn’t because he was a prude or that he would call me out when I expressed my opinions either.  All he had to do was sort of snort and I knew he didn’t agree with me.  My opinion was always valid in his eyes as it was my opinion.  He simply knew he didn’t have to rant and rave that I was wrong even though he might strongly believe I was.

            My dad never brought work home, something my mom resents to this day.  He rarely initiated conversations about just any old thing, but would engage in those discussions he was invited into.  To some it might seem as though he was some sort of recluse or introvert, but that was hardly the case.  His humor was always timely and appropriate for the audience he addressed.  He also lived by the Ten Commandments although he never spoke of them or set foot in church the entire twenty-six years I knew him except when he led me down the aisle.  Above all else, he treated everyone with quiet respect.

            I often wish I had initiated more conversations with my dad while he was alive.  But I, like my dad, was content just being with someone I loved and trusted, feeling comfortable with few words spoken.  Perhaps this sort of communication is the most sincere of all.

The Globalization of English

Prior to the onslaught of current twentieth century technologies that now enable world communities to communicate with each other in a matter of milliseconds, the evolution of English had been contingent upon the nature of ecological factors present in a particular setting.

The compromise of idiolects and dialects in America was slowly but surely influenced by other languages that it came in contact with via immigration and migration. Communication demands forced adaptations of our language for the sake of commerce and co-existence. Linguistic variations depended very much on the interaction of individuals and cultures, much to the chagrin of past and present prescriptionists.

            Simplified versions of English are rearing their ugly or inevitable heads, depending on how one embraces the evolution of the English language, in most corners of our society. I have just learned there are several subsets of English contrived to facilitate the limited vocabulary of nonfluent speakers. One of these tools, Special English, has roughly 1,500 words that it uses to broadcast news and special features to its millions of listeners worldwide. It would, however, seem apparent that such manifestations of English are restricted to social class and have become the vernacular of an underground English movement that has been in existence for over forty years.   Other examples of English transformation are seen in business, medicine, science and technology, navigation and academia. As people have come to be increasingly mobile, both physically and electronically, English has become the most populous language spoken in the world, second only to Mandarin, largely due to U.S. military and economic prowess. It is the lingua francas used in most economic and political arenas as well as cultural venues. This integration of world’s societies, known as globalization, is mainly the result of one technological advance in communication: the Internet.

            The Internet originated in English speaking countries and uses programs with key words based on the English language. It is reported that there exists as much as an 80% bias towards all web content written and stored in English. Perhaps the main reason English has become such a dominant language in the economic and political world is its ability to be shaped and sliced and redefined by its speakers, much the same way America has been redefined by its members since WWII. The globalization of English lends itself, therefore, to the emergence of ‘Englishes’, or hybrid varieties of English, with the possibility of its native speakers one day acknowledging they speak just another version of its form.

            Because of its contact with different users in different geographical areas of the world, the perpetuance of Standard English as the unifying language of the universe has long since passed into the night. As these groups learn to communicate outside their own elite spheres of influence they will create and conform their own language according to their individual needs. As more and more countries are insisting their children learn English to be internationally competitive in our global society, it would seem prescriptionists will have to do their best to preserve the English language with all its complex rules as an art form while at the same time closing their eyes and ears to the reality that language is a dynamic beast of its own that cannot be constrained by any human force on earth.   

To Be Or Not To Be An Effective Writer

To Be Or Not To Be An Effective Writer

            There is no other way of stating this plain truth: Effective writing takes time and effort. The single most important thing to remember is not to procrastinate when faced with a writing assignment. That being said, here are some other valuable suggestions to think about while you write.

1.     Allow yourself time to explore different topics unless a particular line of thought is demanded of you. Follow any and all ideas that come to mind by putting them down on paper or on some document on your computer. It is not unusual for writers to wake from their sleep or jump out of the shower to jot ideas down to recall at a later date. The more details that you can associate with that idea, the better. Write them all down.

2.     Understand the audience to whom you are addressing. Most of the writing during these next six years or so will be for a teacher. But perhaps you will want to write for the school newspaper. Your tone of voice and the language you should use should connect with your readers and what they already know about the subject. In other words, you can use big, fancy, multisyllabic words in essays to impress your teacher, but a much more simple choice of words is more appropriate for addressing your peers. By the way understand the meaning of those fancy words you use. Your teacher just might ask you what they mean.

3.     Make sure you know what you are writing about so your readers feel comfortable in the knowledge you present to them. The use of “fluff” or unnecessary vocabulary is not ever needed to impress or persuade in most cases.

4.     In order to connect with your readers you need to first connect with yourself. If you don’t believe what you have written then chances are neither will your audience. Therefore, write accurately, state what you believe to be true, and say it in your own voice and in your own language.

5.     Seldom are first drafts final drafts, unless you have waited too long to start an assignment. Don’t be dismayed if you feel like ripping up your paper or deleting your document. Go ahead and give it to the dog to eat if you don’t like what you have written. Then get up and take a walk, shoot hoops, get your blood circulating to increase blood flow to the brain and to relax your muscles. Who knows, you might have an epiphany! Better look up the meaning for this word. It just might be on your next vocab test. (hint, hint).

6.     If you are writing an argument for or against an issue of concern, see if you can argue against the points you have presented. Play the devil’s advocate. If your words can be trusted and sound logical,  your argument is well prepared.

7.     Refrain from ”feely” words such as “I believe” or “I feel” when stating facts or making an argument. Your readers really don’t care about how you feel; they care about the facts.

8.     Last, and second only to not procrastinating, when you are finished with a writing assignment read your work out loud to yourself. You will be surprised at how many little grammatical mistakes, key word omissions, and sentences that just don’t make sense you discover.  Then, have someone else you trust to honestly and constructively critique your work read your writing. After all, you are writing for someone else in the first place. See what they think. And it’s okay not to change anything in your paper if you are comfortable with what you have written. Writing is a personal experience, and you own what you write.

The suggestions are not unique to my own writing process, but rather an accumulation of

insights and advice gathered from seasoned, successful educators and writers. Refer to this list often and you will find your writing improving by leaps and bounds.

Ms. Kausen