Mueller Charter Leadership Academy
Becoming Human
Leo Padilla
Humanities Q7
Mr. Medina
9-11-13
An outsider can be defined as a person who doesn’t feel included or accepted. There are many feelings that may arise as a result of being an outsider, such as hurtful and lonely. An outsider may feel excluded at school. Lastly, there are a variety of reasons that may cause one to be an outsider such as sexuality, racism, classism, and stereotypes.
After being introduced to the concept of an outsider, I am left with many questions. Who makes these rules? Who benefits from these rules? How do we change these rules? Why do people compete with each other? Are we born to argue about everything? Are there people who choose to be an outsider? Are there people who are border liners? Am I an outsider or an insider? As you can see there are many reflections of being an outsider.
In fact, there are many kinds of outsiders. I am an outsider by choice because I choose not to hang out with the bad people who might get me into trouble. I choose not to hang out with them because if I’m with them and they get into trouble I’ll get involved in it too because I was with them. And I wouldn’t want to be in a group that is leaving people out or being mean to them. I want everyone to feel included, that’s why I am an outsider by choice.
Unfortunately stereotypes can cause someone to feel like an outsider. A stereotype is when you take a group of people and you say everyone in that group is the same. An example of someone who has been stereotyped is my uncle. He used to go to school in the state of Oregon. At this school he was the only Mexican, so everyone stereotyped him by saying he was bad because if one is bad all of them must be bad. So my uncle moved to San Diego and everything became better.
Another example about stereotypes comes from the book “The Outsiders.” Two characters from the book discuss stereotypes, Ponyboy, a greaser, believes that because some socs are mean all of them are the same way. Cherry, a soc, disagrees, she says that he is totally wrong and that he is stereotyping the socs. “Just because some socs that you know are bad doesn’t mean all of them are too.”
In addition stereotypes are also explored in C. Addichie’s TED talk called, “A Danger of a Single Story.” In this presentation she discusses that because she stereotyping a lot of problems began forming. In books she stereotyped that her race wasn’t important enough to be in books. She also stereotypes Mexican people by saying that because some Mexicans are drug dealers and bad people, all of them must be the same because they are the same race.
Despite stereotypes, epiphanies challenge individuals to better people. An epiphany is when someone changes its characteristics and personality. An example of someone who had an epiphany is my grandmother, Rosa Padilla. My grandmother was an orphan and she thought that she wouldn’t make it. She had an epiphany that helped her stay strong while growing up. Her parent died in a car accident when she was only five.
In addition to my grandmother, there is also an example of an epiphany in the book “The Outsiders.” Johnny Cade is a character who goes from a zero to a hero. Johnny was bad and always smoked and jumped people. He always slept outside his home. Then he had an epiphany in a church, that helped him save many lives of little kids. Even though he died, he died like a hero, being proud of himself.
To conclude “Becoming Human” is very related to being an outsider, stereotypes, and epiphanies. It is related to an outsider because everyone has to experience being an outsider at least once. It is connected to stereotypes because everyone has to at least be stereotyped once. It is related to epiphanies because everyone has to have an epiphany or know someone who had one. All in all everyone has to go through being an outsider, being stereotyped, and know someone who had an epiphany.
Works Cited
Hinton, S.E. “The Outsider.” New York: Penguin Group, 1967.
Padilla, Rosa. Personal Interview. 14 August 2013.
“ C. Addichie on A Danger of a Single Story. “ www.tedtalk.com.Web.July 2009.
Becoming Human
Leo Padilla
Humanities Q7
Mr. Medina
9-11-13
An outsider can be defined as a person who doesn’t feel included or accepted. There are many feelings that may arise as a result of being an outsider, such as hurtful and lonely. An outsider may feel excluded at school. Lastly, there are a variety of reasons that may cause one to be an outsider such as sexuality, racism, classism, and stereotypes.
After being introduced to the concept of an outsider, I am left with many questions. Who makes these rules? Who benefits from these rules? How do we change these rules? Why do people compete with each other? Are we born to argue about everything? Are there people who choose to be an outsider? Are there people who are border liners? Am I an outsider or an insider? As you can see there are many reflections of being an outsider.
In fact, there are many kinds of outsiders. I am an outsider by choice because I choose not to hang out with the bad people who might get me into trouble. I choose not to hang out with them because if I’m with them and they get into trouble I’ll get involved in it too because I was with them. And I wouldn’t want to be in a group that is leaving people out or being mean to them. I want everyone to feel included, that’s why I am an outsider by choice.
Unfortunately stereotypes can cause someone to feel like an outsider. A stereotype is when you take a group of people and you say everyone in that group is the same. An example of someone who has been stereotyped is my uncle. He used to go to school in the state of Oregon. At this school he was the only Mexican, so everyone stereotyped him by saying he was bad because if one is bad all of them must be bad. So my uncle moved to San Diego and everything became better.
Another example about stereotypes comes from the book “The Outsiders.” Two characters from the book discuss stereotypes, Ponyboy, a greaser, believes that because some socs are mean all of them are the same way. Cherry, a soc, disagrees, she says that he is totally wrong and that he is stereotyping the socs. “Just because some socs that you know are bad doesn’t mean all of them are too.”
In addition stereotypes are also explored in C. Addichie’s TED talk called, “A Danger of a Single Story.” In this presentation she discusses that because she stereotyping a lot of problems began forming. In books she stereotyped that her race wasn’t important enough to be in books. She also stereotypes Mexican people by saying that because some Mexicans are drug dealers and bad people, all of them must be the same because they are the same race.
Despite stereotypes, epiphanies challenge individuals to better people. An epiphany is when someone changes its characteristics and personality. An example of someone who had an epiphany is my grandmother, Rosa Padilla. My grandmother was an orphan and she thought that she wouldn’t make it. She had an epiphany that helped her stay strong while growing up. Her parent died in a car accident when she was only five.
In addition to my grandmother, there is also an example of an epiphany in the book “The Outsiders.” Johnny Cade is a character who goes from a zero to a hero. Johnny was bad and always smoked and jumped people. He always slept outside his home. Then he had an epiphany in a church, that helped him save many lives of little kids. Even though he died, he died like a hero, being proud of himself.
To conclude “Becoming Human” is very related to being an outsider, stereotypes, and epiphanies. It is related to an outsider because everyone has to experience being an outsider at least once. It is connected to stereotypes because everyone has to at least be stereotyped once. It is related to epiphanies because everyone has to have an epiphany or know someone who had one. All in all everyone has to go through being an outsider, being stereotyped, and know someone who had an epiphany.
Works Cited
Hinton, S.E. “The Outsider.” New York: Penguin Group, 1967.
Padilla, Rosa. Personal Interview. 14 August 2013.
“ C. Addichie on A Danger of a Single Story. “ www.tedtalk.com.Web.July 2009.