The title of this course is Rhetoric, which is my first Humanities course as a Junior. The course supposes that we use language to bring unity, division, and transcendence into our school, work, and civic life. To succeed we learned about Rhetoric devices that helped us analyze and critique language by watching videos, or reading short passages. The purpose of this action project was to demonstrate mastery of rhetorical techniques by writing my own speech. I had to imagine that I was in a political debate and had to come up with a topic that raised awareness. What I learned during this action project is all the devices and how to analyze a speech and text better. The challenges I faced during this action project is talking about my story about depression. What I am proud of is how my transcript turned out.
Did you know that suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 - 24 year olds? Approximately 5,000 young people die each year. Some causes of suicide are teens feeling like they can’t fit in and get block out from crowds. Feeling like they can’t be accepted for who they are, some youth LGBT have been going through this for many years. Some have taken their lives because family members and friends wouldn’t accept them for who they were. Jean-Philippe was 14 years old when he ended his life due to depression and suicide because he constantly got teased for being gay. His own family members found out by reading the letter he left them in which he wrote, “PS: By the way, I was gay and I would like to say to the ones who still love me I will never forget them.”
Depression doesn’t always win. My sister’s story is one that can be told proudly. I remember when we were younger she would never let me paint for nails or do her hair. She would cry, scream, and yell because I would force her to let me, but I had no luck. She started “changing” around 10 years old, wearing baggy clothes, cutting her hair shorter, not wanting to talk. Certain family members wouldn’t understand why she was dressing like this, or why she acted a certain way that was different from their expectations of her. I noticed something on her arm one day; I saw cuts and I asked her what was wrong. She told me that she felt like we wouldn’t accept her because she's a lesbian. Lucky for her, she has a family that is the most loving, caring, and group of supporters for her.
A semicolon is used when a sentence could have been ended; but wasn’t. The Semicolon project is a faith-based, non-profit movement dedicated to offering hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide addiction and self-injury. The project promotes the semicolon tattoo in order to raise awareness of these important, life-or-death issues, but most importantly to let sufferers know they don’t have to live in shame because they aren’t actually alone. I am planning to get this tattoo when I turn 18 to represent my sister and myself, because I suffer from depression as well.
Depression is like a big tumbleweed filled with uncontrollable feelings and thoughts. You never know when it’s going to leave or cross your path again or what garbage it’ll pick up along the way. Some days you’re fine, and then the next it’s there hovering over you and can take days, weeks, and even months for it to leave. Even the simplest things can make it come back and you just wish you could feel numb. Robin Williams was one of my favorite actors and he lost his fight with depression as an extremely successful,well-known adult. Just because he had a big smile and knew how to make people laugh doesn’t mean he was okay. One thing I learned from depression is that it’s so easy to hide from people; you can look so happy but inside you are running, running, running away from that one thing that can bring you down. Another thing that I learned is that depression isn’t me, it’s just a thing that happens. You have to stay positive and accept yourself for who you are, not caring what other people think. Depression doesn’t always win. Be like the semicolon - before you judge pause and take a moment to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
Depression doesn’t always win. My sister’s story is one that can be told proudly. I remember when we were younger she would never let me paint for nails or do her hair. She would cry, scream, and yell because I would force her to let me, but I had no luck. She started “changing” around 10 years old, wearing baggy clothes, cutting her hair shorter, not wanting to talk. Certain family members wouldn’t understand why she was dressing like this, or why she acted a certain way that was different from their expectations of her. I noticed something on her arm one day; I saw cuts and I asked her what was wrong. She told me that she felt like we wouldn’t accept her because she's a lesbian. Lucky for her, she has a family that is the most loving, caring, and group of supporters for her.
A semicolon is used when a sentence could have been ended; but wasn’t. The Semicolon project is a faith-based, non-profit movement dedicated to offering hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide addiction and self-injury. The project promotes the semicolon tattoo in order to raise awareness of these important, life-or-death issues, but most importantly to let sufferers know they don’t have to live in shame because they aren’t actually alone. I am planning to get this tattoo when I turn 18 to represent my sister and myself, because I suffer from depression as well.
Depression is like a big tumbleweed filled with uncontrollable feelings and thoughts. You never know when it’s going to leave or cross your path again or what garbage it’ll pick up along the way. Some days you’re fine, and then the next it’s there hovering over you and can take days, weeks, and even months for it to leave. Even the simplest things can make it come back and you just wish you could feel numb. Robin Williams was one of my favorite actors and he lost his fight with depression as an extremely successful,well-known adult. Just because he had a big smile and knew how to make people laugh doesn’t mean he was okay. One thing I learned from depression is that it’s so easy to hide from people; you can look so happy but inside you are running, running, running away from that one thing that can bring you down. Another thing that I learned is that depression isn’t me, it’s just a thing that happens. You have to stay positive and accept yourself for who you are, not caring what other people think. Depression doesn’t always win. Be like the semicolon - before you judge pause and take a moment to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
Citations:
"Semicolon Project." www.projectsemicolon.org. Amy Bleuel. 2013. Web. 19 Sept, 2015.
"Facts and Figures."afsp.org.N.P. 2015. Web 19 Sept, 2015.
"True gay youth stories." akeweedatarrowhead.net. Gary Lynn. 2004. Web. 19 Sept, 2015.
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