dani_f1979

HOW GOES IT

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 23:15:42 GMT

With a change of instructor and overall focus of the project, I've spent the last couple of weeks getting my head together. My initial project idea, grand and appealing as it was, may have been a little too big to accomplish in 15 weeks of study. I've decided to improvise. The new project involves conducting several in depth interviews over the next couple of weeks; mostly friends and acquaintances. i am quite simply, going to attempt to define Bisexuality as a culture. It's a lot more tedious than it sounds. Scheduling is a issue for one.A large number of these people are artist and performers of some sort and forcing them into one space at a particular point in time is proving to be a pain, but worth it. My first official interview was extremely informative; a lot of early history. My hopes are that after conducting individual, small numbered group interviews, at some point I might be able to get the larger sum of them all together and have a group discussion. A girl can dream can't she? Wish me well on my venture as I have chosen to do the same for all of you and your projects. Good luck guys.

CULTURAL DEFINITION/ PROJECT GOALS

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 04:10:12 GMT

      Defining culture as it pertains to me is particularly complicated. Too often as a society, I feel we have a tendency to confuse the aspects of culture and what it entails with the ideas of heritage and tradition. Author David Inglis provides several guidelines for what defines culture as a concept in his book Introduction: “Despite these complications, a shorthand characterization of ‘culture’ would see as it involving what different groups of people believe, think, and feel" (10).
     I have to say that I personally find that description as accurate as possible. In my situation, with the choice of project, it is the culture I have created for myself, not inherited, which helped the choice along. Raised in a fairly conservative family, Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual activism was not exactly on the list of things to do. My life choices and the things I have chosen to accept and expose myself to, are part of what have led me to be the person I am today; part of what helped that culture develop from the ground up.
     Growing up the way I did, the individual I was, I was always different. I was different from my sisters, different from other girls, different from the people I came into contact on a daily basis. I was however taught, that it is possible to exist within a community, within a culture, and not necessarily adhere to those ‘guidelines’. My choice in music, my taste in literature, my ideals on life in general, tend to differ greatly from my parents and the community I grew up in. I have always been just a little bit different when it came to the rest of the crowd and my ideals have been shaped due to all of that.
     My project involves detailing the tedium involved in launching a non for profit organization off the ground. The ideal is one that is close to my heart. To quite simply create a place where young people who have realized their sexuality at a young age, are able to come and feel safe, be educated and be steered in a direction that will develop them into independent, free thinking adults. My goal is to create, with the help of close friends and people dedicated to the purpose, an environment free of predators and negative influence. A place where sexuality is not the focus, but coping with the choice to live the realization safely and happily.
     Too often my community, young people are attacked for an aspect of themselves that is not chosen. In my minds eye, my sexuality is not a choice, and having known that from the start, it’s hard to see young people so lost, so without the ability to deal with the daily aspects involved with being a member of the GLBT community. My hopes are to provide an environment to educate. I want to be able to have any young person, gay or straight to be able to walk into the facility and be able to be educated, to be welcomed, to see the purpose for what it truly is and be comfortable in the fact that there’s a place in the community where they are accepted regardless of who they are.
     The more time that I spend brainstorming the basis of my approach, the more certain I am that in the beginning, my project will most definitely be based within the surrounding community. As an African American woman, I see more of an immediate need for a facility of this nature in areas where I spent most of my time growing up. A native of Chicago, I’ve been hard pressed to find any GLBT geared ANYTHING. Large parts of Chicago’s Gay & Lesbian community live on either the North and East sides, and as of yet nothing South Side based has caught my attention. There are plenty of facilities out there, but a large part of this project stems from accessibility. Many inner city high schools are just now beginning to develop Gay & Lesbian coalitions and advocacy programs, if something like this were to successfully take hold, it would provide one more place for them to learn and grow as individuals.
     Work opportunities, counseling for jobs and life choices, outings and fundraising events, these are all things I hope to make a part of the experience, part of the mission of this establishment. To put it shortly, I would like to create a somewhat similar form of the YMCA for the GLBT community.

HELLO! I'M DANI!

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 00:34:21 GMT

AGE: 26

SEX: FEMALE

ETHNICITY: AFRICAN AMERICAN

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: BISEXUAL

MARITAL STATUS: SEEKING DIVORCE

PARENTAL STATUS: MOTHER OF 2

EDUCATION: HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE/ UNDERGRADUATE

MAJOR: FICTION WRITING

INTERESTS: WRITING, WRITING, AND OH YEAH! WRITING! READING AND COOKING.

COOL THINGS TO KNOW: I LOVE MY KIDS, I LOVE MY FAMILY AND I ABSOLUTELY DETEST ENCOURAGED CONFORMITY. EVERYONE SHOULD BE THEMSELVES, REGARDLESS OF HOW LONG IT TAKES THEM TO DISCOVER THAT PERSON

BRAINSTORMING

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 23:35:26 GMT

     The difficulty in this project came not from the assignment itself, but from attempting to narrow down the huge pile of ideas I've had running through my head for the past 3 days. After careful consideration, I think I might have accomplished something.
     I considered the option of a sort of self journey in mind. I am re-entering college at the age of 26 to pursue a life as a writer. Plagued with trials and tribulations, I'm sure it would make an excellent account of "start to finish" as I also intend to keep a full time job and raise two little boys, all while attending 15 hours of school. What better way to show process and action? What better way to explore my intended means to an end while at the same time fulfilling a life long dream. This idea, I have to say, is my favorite so far.
     Making this particular choice would require journal entries, statistics (depressing as they are), interviews with others working toward the same goal, and those from the outside looking in. It could become a sort of how-to-start-over-and-keep-from-killing-your-rambunctious-children-while-ending-up-intellectually-fulfilled. Sounds funny, but I'm sure i could make it work.
     As I am a fiction writing major, I could not possibly leave out a project suggestive of my overall purpose of being here. My second idea involves working towards the proposed publication of a graphic novel or "How to make a baby book fly". (i like that one.)
     My entire summer has been spent developing a series of short stories that friends and family have been pushing me to "get out there". This particular project would step by step account the ups and down of attempted publication. The dos and dont's, the rejections, the advice, the red tape and hoops to jump through; all things i plan to document and account for. My goal is to attack the idea from all angles and finally come up with the most efficient and least emotionally draining way to end up a published author.
      My final idea stems from a project 2 friends and I are struggling with. Looking to become more active within our surrounding communities, the three of us are researching opening an outreach program. As of yet we are in the early stages. As corny as it sounds, we are brainstorming.
Our goal is to identify the community need. With all 3 of us active in the gay community, it's clear that our hearts and intentions are steering us that way. But what type of program should we offer? Our we catering only to the surrounding demographic? What role will age, sex and background play in deciding how and where we choose to become involved? In the aspect of finance, who do you go to receive funding? What about licensing and tax laws? Who do we want working the facility? What exactly qualifies us to believe we can help any body? Who would want our help?
I      t's clear from the above that I've spent a little more time examining the latter of the three, however, all of the above have peaked an equal amount of my interest. My goal is to present the best possible representation of my work as a writer, while at the same time learning more about my management skills.