Don't Think About It

               

This image is taken from eecs.harvard.edu and is a good representation of what research is like. 

Apparently writing a research paper comes along with a good amount of difficulty and frustration. Not even actually writing a research paper, just doing the tasks that need to be completed before writing the paper, such as thinking of research questions, thinking of a thesis, and engaging in the research itself. These pre-exercises alone come along with a lot of difficulty.

                For me to come up with research questions and to figure out my topic and thesis I literally had to sit there for a good hour just to think. After I thought for quite some time and finally figured out a thesis, I’m still not completely sure if it’s too broad, or too detailed. Figuring out a thesis for this research paper was kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, it had to be just right. After coming up with my thesis which I think should be sufficient for a 7 to 9 page research paper I started to feel like I was getting somewhere. I was relieved at that moment.

                Then I got to the researching part. I had some questions formed which was a good place to start. I used key terms from each potential question in doing the research. Doing the research seemed like the most important part to me. I used Google Scholar, Google News, and the library data bases available and what I noticed was that there were so many options. There were almost too many choices. I got kind of overwhelmed by the number of options I had. I researched different aspects of my topic and found sources that seemed to have the most interesting and relevant information concerning my topic. When I was done I noticed I had a long list of potential sources. With this paper we can only have a maximum of ten sources, so I had to go through all of mine and narrow it down to ten. I have written research papers in the past I have just never really taken the time to think about the frustration that comes along with tasks that seem so simple. 

If Only

This is an image of The Great Ellen Degeneres. It was taken from cultofmac.com

 I think we can all agree that if there were more people in this world like Ellen Degeneres it would be a much better place. Ellen is one of those people who acts as a role model to many and not to mention she is hilarious. She always seems to have so much energy and is always so kind. Her ability to make people laugh is endless. This may be why so many people look up to her and can connect with her. Almost everybody loves her. How could someone not?

Eye Opener

November 13, 2015. This is a selfie of me at the event. 

I attended the Trans Visibility Campaign. It was basically an informal presentation put on by a trans female and a nonbinary individual. The presentation was set up in a question and answer format. Anyone could ask questions and anyone could add on to the presenters’ answers as well. It was a very laid back environment and the purpose of it was to raise awareness and inform people about transgender people.

                Before attending the presentation I had a very small and limited amount of knowledge about transgender individuals. By attending it I actually learned quite a bit. I kind of got a feel for what they go through before, during, and after transformation. Some of the topics addressed were what it is like to discover you are trans, what nonbinary means, how much of the population actually is trans, the lack of benefits trans genders receive, what dead names mean to them, and the Caitlyn versus Bruce Jenner controversy. Considering the amount of knowledge I had prior to the event I found all of the topics interesting.

                One of the things that surprised me the most is how differently transgender individuals are treated. They do not have housing protection, healthcare, or employment protection. Doctors can deny treatment for them even in a life or death situation. That just disgusts me. They are just like every other human being on this Earth. Gender does not say much about a person at all. Although, I did not understand all the concepts and words talked about at the Trans Visibility Campaign, I did take a lot away from it. It really opened my eyes and made me realize everyone has their own story and you should never assume anything about anyone based on their looks and/or how they present themselves.