Over the summer I took part in a program called Hands of Peace. This two-and-a-half week program works with teenagers from Israel, Palestine, and the United States. We spent most of our time talking about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. Each kid that came to this program came for different reasons. Some flew thousands of miles just so they could see America, others because they wanted to meet a Palestinian or an Israeli for the first time; some even came just to talk about their life behind a wall and how restricted they have become due to the war. Everybody had a different perspective of the conflict. As an American, I joined this program to hear both sides of the story becuase I wanted a 360 degree view on the conflict in the Middle East.
The Israelis and Palestinians each had their stories to tell about how they thought the other "side" was so evil and how they did such bad things to one another. I was fascinated by their viewpoints of the conflict. Israelis thought the Palestinians were the bad guys while the Palestinians thought the same thing of the Israelis. While first listening to the Middle East participants speak I thought, "How can these kids be so ignorant of one another? Why is this conflict happening? Who's really to blame in all of this? Which side is right and which is wrong? Is there even a right and wrong? Should I risk getting caught in the middle of this?" So many of these questions were running through my head as I listened to them talk. These talks continued everyday for the two-and-a-half-weeks of the program. As each day progressed, I became more comfortable being in the same room as the frustrated and angered Middle Easterners. Eventually, the talks became less focused on generalizations and stereotypes about the other side and became more focused on personal experience. One participant's story in particular really made me change my perspective of the conflict.
The participant was sitting at home with his family watching television when a missile landed in their family room, killing two of the family members instantly. He told us that the missile had been launched by Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organization. He said the incident made him believe that he would hate all Palestinians for the rest of his life. When he came to Hands of Peace, he truly believed that his opinions of the Palestinians would never change, and at first, he was hesitant to even talk to one of them. I came to this program with the firm stance of remaining neutral and not taking anyone's side, but when I heard this boy's story, I almost broke that promise to myself. I wanted so badly to believe that all Palestinians were bad because I really felt his pain. Then I heard another story, this one being from the Palestinian perspective. One of the participants, who lived in Tulkarm, Palestine, was trying to cross into West Jerusalem (which is the Israeli controlled portion of Jerusalem) and he was forced to take off all of his clothes at one of the checkpoints. He told us the soldiers at the checkpoint made him jump around and humiliate himself in fromt of his entire family. This made me feel angry towards to Israelis and I wanted to think that the Israelis were the bad guys. I heard story after story and could not make up my mind about which side was better or which one was to blame. Then I realized that neither side was better than the other.
After the final dialogue session, the boy whose family had been killed by the rocket turned to one of the Palestinians and apologized for the things Israel did to hurt the Palestinians. The Palestinian boy also apologized for all of the horrible things the Palestinians had done to the Israelis. This moment made me realize how incredible it is to witness something you thought would never happen: forgivness. During the two-and-a-half weeks of this program I saw bitter enemies become the best of friends. My experiences with this program made me believe even more strongly that the only way to get a true understanding of a situation is to have a 360 degree view of it.
October 31, 2010
October 12, 2010
Metacognition: Kite Runner Eassay
How does the human mind work? Will anyone ever truly know? The human brain is such a complicated and intricate network of passageways. Millions of signals pass through the brain each second and command us in our everyday lives. How do we manage to get just one or two thoughts down on paper when there are millions of them rushing through our minds all at once?
Well, for me, when writing a paper I can't just focus on a few thoughts or ideas, I have to let it all out. Sometimes I will have five or six great ideas and the only way to organize them is to scribble them all down. For the Kite Runner essay in particular, there were numerous feelings, thoughts, ideas, and opinions I had about the book. Things such as character relationships, plot twists, sensory language and detail, and metaphors all came into my mind. It was difficult for me to pick only one to write about. In the end I chose to write about the significance of the kite, the simple toy that the author, Khaled Hosseini, uses to connect events in Amir's past and present life. I chose to write about something I thought most people would not consider for their essay. I decided to use the kite as the main focus of my essay because, although the kite seems to be only a simple plaything for many people, it became the axis around which Amir's life revolved.
What surprises me most about my way of thinking is the wide variety of topics that come to my mind when asked to write about something. It is always a challenge for me to pick one specific thing to write about, but I always find a way to support my thoughts and make them into well- written and detailed works. But not only that, I also like the fact that I can process so many different ideas at once. This gives me the chance to see how well one idea might work in an essay and how badly another might turn out, in other words, a "dead end" thought. My thought process is very similar to a math problem: I start by getting an idea of how I am going to do the work, then I start to plug in different thoughts (numbers). Then I work out the problem with the number I hope will give me the correct answer. If it doesn't, I go back to the drawing board and plug in a new number. I continue to do this until I find a number that satisfies the equation. In other words, my thought process is very similar to a guess-and-check math problem. I plug in one idea and if it brings me to a dead end, I plug in a new thought. I keep doing this until I get an idea that leads me somewhere, which hopefully satisfies the problem and makes for a good essay.
One thing I would like to change about my thought process that not only pertains to writing, but is also relevant to just about everything I am required to think about, is depth. Often times when I am forced to think about something, I merely skim the surface, giving answers or explanations with as little detail as possible, just so I can get by with the bare minimum. Sometimes, however, I do think with great depth and I am satisfied with other thoughts that arise as a result. But I don't want to change the way I think, I want to enhance my ability to think with more depth all the time, not just sometimes.
A brain is one of the most vital organs in our bodies. It keeps us alive; more than that, it keeps our thoughts flowing from our head, down to our fingertips, through the pen, and onto the paper. Writers utilize their thought process, and their brains thank them by creating great works.
Well, for me, when writing a paper I can't just focus on a few thoughts or ideas, I have to let it all out. Sometimes I will have five or six great ideas and the only way to organize them is to scribble them all down. For the Kite Runner essay in particular, there were numerous feelings, thoughts, ideas, and opinions I had about the book. Things such as character relationships, plot twists, sensory language and detail, and metaphors all came into my mind. It was difficult for me to pick only one to write about. In the end I chose to write about the significance of the kite, the simple toy that the author, Khaled Hosseini, uses to connect events in Amir's past and present life. I chose to write about something I thought most people would not consider for their essay. I decided to use the kite as the main focus of my essay because, although the kite seems to be only a simple plaything for many people, it became the axis around which Amir's life revolved.
What surprises me most about my way of thinking is the wide variety of topics that come to my mind when asked to write about something. It is always a challenge for me to pick one specific thing to write about, but I always find a way to support my thoughts and make them into well- written and detailed works. But not only that, I also like the fact that I can process so many different ideas at once. This gives me the chance to see how well one idea might work in an essay and how badly another might turn out, in other words, a "dead end" thought. My thought process is very similar to a math problem: I start by getting an idea of how I am going to do the work, then I start to plug in different thoughts (numbers). Then I work out the problem with the number I hope will give me the correct answer. If it doesn't, I go back to the drawing board and plug in a new number. I continue to do this until I find a number that satisfies the equation. In other words, my thought process is very similar to a guess-and-check math problem. I plug in one idea and if it brings me to a dead end, I plug in a new thought. I keep doing this until I get an idea that leads me somewhere, which hopefully satisfies the problem and makes for a good essay.
One thing I would like to change about my thought process that not only pertains to writing, but is also relevant to just about everything I am required to think about, is depth. Often times when I am forced to think about something, I merely skim the surface, giving answers or explanations with as little detail as possible, just so I can get by with the bare minimum. Sometimes, however, I do think with great depth and I am satisfied with other thoughts that arise as a result. But I don't want to change the way I think, I want to enhance my ability to think with more depth all the time, not just sometimes.
A brain is one of the most vital organs in our bodies. It keeps us alive; more than that, it keeps our thoughts flowing from our head, down to our fingertips, through the pen, and onto the paper. Writers utilize their thought process, and their brains thank them by creating great works.
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