Finally I am a blogger
Hi, my name is Eatheana West I am a senior majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with a minor in Women’s Studies. I am the stay at home mother of two sons, one is an adult on his own, a military wife and in this final semester a part time student. I currently live in Rockville Maryland, however I will be moving in December to the Ft. Walton Beach area in Florida. Finally, we will be back in our home state.
Although I love being a wife and mother I love knowing that those things do not define me. I hope that I will always remember to take time for myself and that I can teach other women how important it is to love themselves as much as they love others.
This class will fulfill my minor requirements and it gives me an insight to the world of adolescent girls. I have eight nieces from the age of three to twenty-four and it is amazing and terrifying whenever we spend time together. I am amazed because they are all very independent, out spoken and incredible intelligent. I am terrified because the pre-teens are extremely concerned with their figures and one even talks about having lipo when she is older. I am excited about taking a class that deals strictly with the concerns of girls and I am hopeful that it will help me understand the challenges my nieces face.
I felt sad reading “Your Life as a Girl” mostly because it reminded me of my own adolescent years. Growing up in a house full of boys, I was competitive until the seventh grade. Girls that continued to excel at sports became targets for boys in the form of teasing and often it could become physical similar to what Anna experienced in the snow fight. I have come to realize that this harassment was the boys way of saying if you out perform me in sports I will make your life miserable. I also experienced the sexual harassment as boys would often touch girls inappropriately, then laugh, and try to make her feel bad about her developing body.
I felt the readings in Red were in complete contrast to the Sittenfeld’s reading. I was impressed with how enlightened the girls are in Red. The maturity of each girl shone in her writings. I enjoyed reading stories of girls that did not let others define them and they all felt good about themselves. Often it is hard for an adult to learn to enjoy being alone so it is amazing that a teenager is able to understand that there is nothing wrong with being able to enjoy her own company. Anna felt she had become a “statistic” one of the “teenage girls who get eating disorders and flunk math.” However, in “Red” Kirsten was able to transform herself from a shy child and use climbing as a way to gain confidence. Kirsten also gained the knowledge of knowing that although we are different if we take the time we can find a common thread that can bind us together and allow us to look past the stereotypes.
Although I love being a wife and mother I love knowing that those things do not define me. I hope that I will always remember to take time for myself and that I can teach other women how important it is to love themselves as much as they love others.
This class will fulfill my minor requirements and it gives me an insight to the world of adolescent girls. I have eight nieces from the age of three to twenty-four and it is amazing and terrifying whenever we spend time together. I am amazed because they are all very independent, out spoken and incredible intelligent. I am terrified because the pre-teens are extremely concerned with their figures and one even talks about having lipo when she is older. I am excited about taking a class that deals strictly with the concerns of girls and I am hopeful that it will help me understand the challenges my nieces face.
I felt sad reading “Your Life as a Girl” mostly because it reminded me of my own adolescent years. Growing up in a house full of boys, I was competitive until the seventh grade. Girls that continued to excel at sports became targets for boys in the form of teasing and often it could become physical similar to what Anna experienced in the snow fight. I have come to realize that this harassment was the boys way of saying if you out perform me in sports I will make your life miserable. I also experienced the sexual harassment as boys would often touch girls inappropriately, then laugh, and try to make her feel bad about her developing body.
I felt the readings in Red were in complete contrast to the Sittenfeld’s reading. I was impressed with how enlightened the girls are in Red. The maturity of each girl shone in her writings. I enjoyed reading stories of girls that did not let others define them and they all felt good about themselves. Often it is hard for an adult to learn to enjoy being alone so it is amazing that a teenager is able to understand that there is nothing wrong with being able to enjoy her own company. Anna felt she had become a “statistic” one of the “teenage girls who get eating disorders and flunk math.” However, in “Red” Kirsten was able to transform herself from a shy child and use climbing as a way to gain confidence. Kirsten also gained the knowledge of knowing that although we are different if we take the time we can find a common thread that can bind us together and allow us to look past the stereotypes.
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